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CLASSBOOK   OF 
OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 


Classbook  of  Old  Testament  History 

Everyman's  Religion 

Christianity  Between  Sundays 

The  Heresy  of  Cain 

The  Battles  of  Peace 

The  Human  Nature  of  the  Saints 

The  Path  of  Life 

In  This  Present  World 

The  Year  of  Grace  (2  Vols.) 


The  Cross  and  Passion 
Faith  and  Social  Service 


(      DEC  23  1913 
CLASSBOOK  OF   ^%{:£IMi_^ 

OLD  TESTAMENT 
HISTORY 


BY 


GEORGE   HODGES 

DEAN  OF  THE   EPISCOPAL  THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL 
CAMBRIDGE,   MASSACHUSETTS 


N£l33  gorft 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1913 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1913, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electro  typed.    Published  October,  1913. 


NorSuooti  33"SB 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  intended  for  the  general  reader,  and  for 
use  in  classes  in  schools  and  churches.  The  purpose  is 
to  make  the  course  of  Old  Testament  history  clear.  Con- 
tinual references  are  given  to  the  passages  of  which  the 
paragraphs  of  the  book  are  a  summary  and  an  interpre- 
tation. It  is  expected  that  the  student  will  read  these 
passages.  Constant  use  has  been  made  of  recent  discov- 
eries, and  of  the  conservative  results  of  scholarship. 

Easily  accessible  helps  to  further  study  are  Hastings, 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible  ;  Driver,  Introduction  to  the  Litera- 
ture of  the  Old  Testament ;  Moore,  Literature  of  the  Old 
Testament;  H.  P.  Smith,  Old  Testa7?tent  History;  Kent, 
Historical  Bible,  and  Students'  Old  Testament;  G.  A.  Smith, 
Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land ;  Kent,  Biblical 
Geography  and  History ;  and  the  Old  Testament  volumes 
of  the  International  Critical  Commentary. 


CONTENTS 

OUT   OF   MESOPOTAMIA   INTO   EGYPT 

PAGE 

I.     The  Background  of  Old  Testament  History: 

1.  The  Geographical  Background    ....  1 

2.  The  Historical  Background          ....  2 

3.  The  Religious  Background 4 

4.  The  Sources 5 

II.     The  Beginning: 

1.  The  Creation  of  the  World 8 

2.  The  Fall  of  Man 9 

3.  The  Flood 10 

4.  The  Origin  of  the  Nations 11 

III.  The  Story  of  Abraham  : 

1.  The  Call  of  Abraham  .         .         .         .         .         .14 

2.  The  Fortunes  of  Lot 17 

3.  The  Covenant  with  Abraham       ....  19 

IV.  Isaac  and  Jacob  : 

1.  The  Wooing  of  Rebekah 21 

2.  Jacob  and  Esau 22 

3.  Jacob  in  Haran 23 

4.  The  Wrestling  of  Jacob 25 

V.    The  Story  of  Joseph  : 

1.  The  Selling  of  Joseph 27 

2.  The  Glory  of  Joseph 28 

3.  Joseph  and  his  Brethren 30 

4.  Israel  in  Egypt     ...<,,..  31 

vii 


vm 


CONTENTS 


VI. 


OUT   OF   EGYPT   INTO    PALESTINE 

Moses  and  the  Exodus 

1.   The  Oppression  of  the  Israelites 


2.  The  Call  of  Moses 

3.  Moses  and  Pharaoh 

4.  The  Passover    . 


VII. 


VIII. 


5.    The  Red  Sea     . 
Moses  and  the  Law  : 

1.  Mount  Sinai       .... 

2.  The  Law  by  Commandments    . 

3.  The  Law  by  Cases     . 

4.  The  Ark  of  the  Covenant 

The  March  of  the  Invading  Army: 

1.  The  Invasion  that  Failed  . 

2.  The  Wandering  in  the  Wilderness 

3.  By  the  Way  of  Edom  and  Moab 

4.  On  the  Eve  of  the  Invasion 


IX. 


XL 


The  Conquest  of  Canaan : 

1.   The  Crossing  of  the  Jordan 
The  Destruction  of  Jericho 
The  Siege  of  Ai 
The  Battle  of  Beth-horon 
The  Progress  of  the  Conquest 

The  Heroic  Age: 

1.  The  Land  and  the  Tribes 

2.  Deborah  and  the  Canaanites 

3.  Gideon  and  the  Midianites 

4.  Jephthah  and  the  Ammonites 

5.  Samson  and  the  Philistines 

THE   UNITED    KINGDOM 
The  Service  of  Samuel  : 

1.  The  Capture  of  the  Ark    . 

2.  The  Leadership  of  Samuel 

3.  Samuel  and  Saul 


32 
33 
35 
36 
36 

38 
39 
41 
43 

44 
45 
46 
47 

50 
51 

52 
52 
54 

56 

57 
59 
59 
60 


62 
63 
65 


CONTENTS  ix 

XII.    The  Reign  of  Saul:  page 

1.  The  Relief  of  Jabesh 67 

2.  The  Battle  of  the  Pass  of  Michmash        .        .  68 

3.  The  Wars  of  Saul 70 

4.  The  Battle  of  Mount  Gilboa     ....  71 

XIII.  The  Rise  of  David: 

1.  David  the  Giant- Killer 74 

2.  David  the  Outlaw 76 

3.  David  and  the  House  of  Saul  ....  78 

XIV.  The  Reign  of  David: 

1.  The  City  of  David 80 

2.  The  Wars  of  David           .         .         .         .         •  81 

3.  The  Troubles  of  David 84 

4.  The  Psalms  of  David 86 

XV.    The  Reign  of  Solomon  : 

1.  The  Accession  of  Solomon      ....  88 

2.  The  Splendor  of  Solomon        ....  89 

3.  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon          ....  91 

4.  The  Folly  of  Solomon 92 


FROM  THE   REVOLUTION  OF  JEROBOAM  TO 
THE    REVOLUTION   OF  JEHU 

XVI.    The  Revolution  of  Jeroboam  : 

1.  The  Definite  Dates 95 

2.  The  Oppression  of  the  People         ...  % 

3.  The  Beginnings  of  RebelUon  ....  97 

4.  The  Declaration  of  Independence   ...  99 

XVII.     The  Divided  Kingdom  : 

1.  Israel  and  Judah 102 

2.  The  Reign  of  Rehoboam  .         .         .         .104 

3.  The  Reign  of  Jeroboam 106 

4.  Asa  and  Five  Kings  of  Israel  ....  107 


CONTENTS 


XVIII.     Ahab  and  Jehoshaphat:  page 

1.  The  First  Syrian  War 110 

2.  Ahab's  Policy  of  Peace 112 

3.  The  Second  Syrian  War         .         .         .         .114 
XIX.     The  Prophet  Elijah  : 

1.  Baal  or  Jehovah  ? 117 

2.  "  The  Lord,  He  is  the  God !  "         .        .        .  118 

3.  Naboth's  Vineyard 122 

XX.    The  Two  Jehorams  : 

1.  Ahaziah  of  Israel 124 

2.  The  Two  Jehorams 125 

3.  The  Prophet  Elisha 127 

FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   OF  JEHU  TO   THE 
FALL   OF   SAMARIA 
XXI.    The  Revolution  of  Jehu  : 

1.  Jehu  seizes  the  Crown  of  Israel      .         .         .  131 

2.  Athaliah  seizes  the  Crown  of  Judah        .         .  134 

3.  The  War  with  Syria 135 

XXII.    The  Long  Peace: 

1.  Amaziah  and  Jehoash 137 

2.  Forty  Prosperous  Years          ....  139 

3.  The  Beginnings  of  the  Old  Testament  .        .  140 

XXIII.  Amos  and  Hosea: 

1.  The  Decline  of  Israel 144 

2.  The  Prophet  Amos 145 

3.  The  Prophet  Hosea 148 

XXIV.  The  Assyrian  Invasion  : 

1.  Israel  and  Syria  against  Judah        .         .         .  151 

2.  The  Fall  of  Samaria 153 

3.  "  The  God  of  the  Land  "        .         .        .        .154 

FROM    THE    FALL    OF    SAMARIA    TO    THE 
FALL   OF  JERUSALEM 

XXV.     Isaiah  and  the  Peril  of  Jerusalem  : 

1.  The  Prophet  Micah 156 

2.  The  Business  of  the  Ambassadors  of  Babylon  158 

3.  The  Great  Deliverance 159 


CONTENTS  xi 

XXVI.    The  Great  Reformation:  page 

1.  Manasseh  the  Apostate        ....     163 

2.  The  Beginning  of  Reaction  .         .         .     165 

3.  The  Book  of  the  Law 167 

4.  The  Battle  of  Megiddo         .         .         .         .169 
XXVII.    Jeremiah  at  the  Court  of  Jehoiakim  : 

1.  The  Battle  of  Carchemish   .         .         .         .171 

2.  In  the  Reign  of  Jehoiakim  ....     174 
XXVIII.     The  Chaldean  Invasion  : 

1.  The  First  Captivity 178 

2.  In  the  Reign  of  Zedekiah    .         .         .         .179 

3.  The  Fall  of  Jerusalem  .         .         .         .180 

4.  Gedaliah  the  Governor         .        .        .        .183 

UNDER   FOREIGN   RULERS 
XXIX.     Ezekiel  and  the  Exile  in  Babylon: 

1.  Between  the  Two  Captivities       .        .        .185 

2.  Facing  the  Future 188 

3.  The  Fall  of  Babylon 191 

XXX.     The  Rebuilding  of  Jerusalem  : 

1.  The  Rebuilding  of  the  Temple    .         .         .195 

2.  The  Expectation  of  the  Messiah  .         .     196 

3.  The  Golden  Century 197 

4.  The  Rebuilding  of  the  Walls       .        .        .198 
XXXI.     The  Proclamation  of  the  Law: 

1.  The  Reforms  of  Nehemiah  .         .         .201 

2.  The  Reforms  of  Ezra 203 

3.  After  Ezra  and  Nehemiah    ....     206 
Tables  of  Dates  : 

1.  The  Hebrews  and  their  Contemporaries     .    210 

2.  The  Divided  Kingdom         .         .         .         .212 

3.  Historical  Narratives  of  the  Old  Testament    213 

4.  The  Prophets 213 

5.  Other  Old  Testament  Books        .        .        .214 
Index 215 


CLASSBOOK   OF   OLD    TESTA- 
MENT   HISTORY 


THE  BACKGROUND  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

I.  The  Geographical  Background.  —  The  events  which 
are  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  took  place  in  Asia  and 
Africa. 

The  ruling  nations  of  the  ancient  world  lived  in  the 
valleys  of  great  rivers:  in  Asia,  by  the  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates ;  in  Africa,  by  the  Nile.  Along  the  lower  courses 
of  the  Asiatic  rivers  were  the  Babylonians  and,  conquer- 
ing and  succeeding  them,  the  Chaldeans.  The  capital  city 
was  Babylon.  Along  the  upper  courses  were  the  Assyrians, 
having  their  capital  at  Nineveh.  On  the  banks  of  the 
Nile  were  the  Egyptians. 

The  empires  of  Asia  were  separated  from  the  empire  of 
Africa  by  the  Arabian  desert.  They  were  connected  by 
a  narrow  strip  of  habitable  land,  lying  between  the  desert 
and  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  This  isthmus  between  the  two 
continents  is  the  country  which  was  first  called  Canaan, 
and  afterwards  Palestine.  All  communication  between 
the  Babylonians,  the  Chaldeans  and  the  Assyrians  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Egyptians  on  the  other,  was  by  the  way 
of  Palestine.  Thus  the  Holy  Land  was  at  the  very  centre 
of  the  ancient  world. 

This  country,  the  chief  scene  of  Old  Testament  history, 


2  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  desert,  and  on  the  west  by 
the  sea.  It  ascends  in  the  north  to  the  snow-capped 
mountains  of  Lebanon,  and  descends  in  the  south  to  the 
wilderness  which  extends  toward  Arabia  and  Egypt.  It 
is  divided  east  and  west  into  two  unequal  parts  by  the 
river  Jordan,  which  rises  among  the  northern  mountains, 
and  comes  down  through  the  Lake  of  Galilee  to  the  Dead 
Sea.  It  is  divided  north  and  south  into  two  unequal  parts 
by  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  which  extends  from  the  Medi- 
terranean to  the  Jordan.  The  country  is  for  the  most  part 
a  high  plateau,  broken  into  hills  and  valleys,  green  in  the 
north  with  farms  and  forests,  gray  in  the  south  with  Ume- 
stone  rock.  It  is  between  the  orient  and  the  Occident, 
and  between  the  temperate  zone  and  the  tropics,  a  place 
of  olives  and  of  apples. 

2.  The  Historical  Background.  —  The  people  who 
lived  beside  the  rivers  in  Asia  and  Africa,  and  in  the  con- 
necting land  of  Canaan,  belonged  to  the  same  human 
stock,  and  are  called  Semites.  The  primitive  home  of 
the  Semites  seems  to  have  been  northern  Arabia.  Thence 
they  made  their  way  by  conquest  or  settlement  into 
Egypt,  into  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  mingling  with 
the  native  races  became  Eg3^tians,  Babylonians  and 
Assyrians. 

Before  the  year  2000  B.C.  a  wave  of  such  emigration 
out  of  Arabia  turned  east,  and  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  might  of  Babylon.  The  code  of  Hammurabi,  king  of 
Babylon  about  that  time,  has  been  discovered  in  the  ruins 
of  Susa.  It  contained  two  hundred  and  eighty  laws  for 
the  establishment  of  peace  and  justice,  which  show  that 
these  people  were  already  living  under  such  regulations 
as  appeared  long  after  in  the  legislation  of  Moses. 


BACKGROUND  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  3 

It  may  have  been  the  same  emigration  turning  west 
which  brought  the  Amorites  and  Canaanites  into  the 
land  of  Palestine.  The  frequent  mention  of  the  Amorites 
in  Babylonian  inscriptions  suggests  a  close  relationship. 
The  fact  that  Joshua  found  among  the  spoils  of  Jericho 
a  "  goodly  Babylonish  garment  "  (Joshua  7:21)  indicates 
commercial  intercourse  between  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Jordan.  The  Amorites  were  highlanders,  dwelling  among 
the  hills ;  the  Canaanites  were  lowlanders,  occupying  the 
coast  lands  and  the  Jordan  Valley.  At  the  time  of  the 
Exodus,  there  were  two  Amorite  kingdoms  east  of  the 
Jordan :  Og  was  king  of  Bashan ;  Sihon  was  king  of 
the  country  between  the  Jabbok  and  the  Arnon. 

These  were  the  people  who  inhabited  Canaan  before 
the  Hebrews.  In  kinship  and  in  customs  they  were 
under  the  influence  of  Babylon. 

P:  About  1500,  the  Amorites  and  Canaanites  were  con- 
quered by  the  Egyptians.  The  battle  of  Megiddo  by 
which  the  conquest  was  decided  took  place  in  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon,  and  is  described  on  the  walls  of  the  temple  of 
Amon,  at  Karnak,  in  upper  Egypt.  The  spoils  of  the 
victor  show  that  the  inhabitants  were  rich  and  civilized. 
Flocks  and  herds  and  harvests  of  grain,  horses  and  chariots 
and  armor,  slaves,  furniture  inlaid  with  ivory,  gold  and 
silver  dishes  and  embroidered  garments,  he  carried  away. 

About  1400,  the  country  of  Canaan  was  still  under 
the  rule  of  Egypt,  but  the  kings  of  many  of  its  cities  were 
writing  letters  to  their  sovereign  imploring  his  assistance. 
The  letters  were  found  in  the  ruins  of  an  Egyptian  palace 
at  Tell  el-Amarna,  between  Thebes  and  Cairo.  The  king 
of  Jerusalem  said,  "  If  troops  can  be  sent  before  the  end 
of  the  year,  then  the  territory  of  my  lord  the  king  may  yet 


4  OLD   TESTAMENT   fflSTORY 

be  retained;  but  if  no  troops  arrive,  it  will  assuredly 
be  lost.''  The  invaders  are  called  Habiri.  The  name 
suggests  the  Hebrews. 

Some  such  wave  of  invasion,  or  of  colonization,  brought 
the  people  of  Ammon  to  the  land  east  of  the  lower  Jordan, 
and  the  people  of  Moab  to  the  land  east  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
and  the  people  of  Edom  to  the  land  south  of  that  salt 
lake.  Thus  came  Abraham,  the  Hebrew.  The  title  is 
taken  to  mean  the-man-who-crossed-over;  that  is,  over 
the  river  Euphrates. 

Having  thus  on  the  east  the  Amorites  of  Bashan,  and 
south  of  them  the  Ammonites,  the  Moabites  and  the  Edom- 
ites,  in  that  order,  there  lay  on  the  west,  along  the  Medi- 
terranean shore,  the  lands  of  the  Philistines.  In  the  north- 
west, by  the  sea,  having  Tyre  and  Sidon  for  their  chief 
cities,  were  the  Phoenicians,  famous  for  their  trade  by  ships. 
In  the  northeast,  along  the  road  to  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
having  Damascus  as  their  chief  city,  were  the  Syrians, 
famous  for  their  trade  by  caravan.  On  the  outskirts  of 
the  civilized  lands,  especially  in  the  deserts  east  and  south, 
were  roving  bands  like  the  Bedouin  of  to-day,  who  appear 
under  the  names  of  Amalekites  and  Ishmaelites  and 
Midianites. 

3.  The  Religious  Background.  —  The  religion  of  Canaan 
diflfered  from  the  religion  of  Babylon  as  the  primitive 
worship  of  people  who  live  among  the  hills  differs  natu- 
rally from  the  worship  of  those  who  live  on  wide  plains. 
The  province  of  Babylon  was  ruled  by  one  mighty  king, 
who  was  the  overlord  of  all  the  lesser  kings,  and  this 
condition  appeared  in  religion,  where  one  great  god  was 
over  all  the  lesser  gods.  The  province  of  Canaan  was 
governed  by  several  hundred  kings,  each  in  his  own  city 


BACKGROUND    OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT     5 

on  his  own  hill,  and  the  religion  of  Canaan  accordingly 
included  several  hundred  gods,  each  having  his  own  shrine 
in  his  own  grove,  on  his  own  height.  But  each  of  these 
gods  was  called  Baal,  which  means  "  lord." 

A  shrine  of  Baal  consisted  of  an  altar,  having  beside  it 
a  stone  pillar,  or  obelisk,  called  a  Mazzebah,  and  a  sacred 
tree,  or  pole,  called  an  Asherah.  The  prayers  which  were 
prayed  there  were  for  the  most  part  for  the  fertility  of  the 
ground.  The  Baals  were  believed  to  control  the  harvest. 
Such  sacred  places  the  Hebrews  found  everywhere  when 
they  came  into  the  country.  And  the  fascination  of  them 
appears  in  all  their  history,  even  to  the  time  of  the  exile. 
The  contention  between  the  religion  of  Jeborah  and  the 
religion  of  Baal  was  a  persistent  war. 

4.  The  Sources.  —  The  Old  Testament  history  as  it 
appears  in  the  Old  Testament  needs  to  be  rewritten  for 
general  reading,  for  two  reasons. 

One  reason  is  because  the  history  as  it  stands  is  in  two 
editions.  One  edition  includes  the  books  from  Genesis 
to  Second  Kings.  It  is  an  account  of  events  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in 
586.  It  was  compiled  from  ancient  materials,  but  it  is 
plain  that  it  did  not  appear  in  its  latest  revision  till  after 
the  last  date  in  the  series,  which  is  562  (II  Kings  25  :  27). 
The  other  edition  includes  the  books  from  First  Chronicles 
to  Nehemiah.  It  begins  over  again  with  Adam,  and  comes 
down  over  the  same  history  till  it  includes  the  rebuilding 
of  Jerusalem.  It  mentions  the  high  priest  Jaddua  (Ne- 
hemiah 12:  11)  who  met  Alexander  the  Great  when  he 
took  possession  of  Jerusalem  in  332.  In  order  to  get  the 
whole  of  the  history,  it  is  necessary  to  bring  these  two 
series  of  books  together. 


6  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Moreover,  during  a  period  of  two  hundred  years,  from 
the  division  of  the  Hebrew  kingdom  about  937,  to  the  fall 
of  Samaria  in  722,  the  kingdom  of  Judah  and  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  existed  side  by  side.  The  two  books  of  Kings  re- 
cord what  happened  in  Judah  and  then  what  happened  in 
Israel,  and  then  what  happened  next  in  Judah,  and  so 
on,  in  such  a  way  that  it  is  difficult  to  follow  the  progress 
of  events.     These  reigns  need  to  be  disentangled. 

Another  reason  for  rewriting  the  history  is  because 
there  are  books  of  poetry,  and  especially  books  of  proph- 
ecy, in  the  Old  Testament,  which  were  written  in  the 
midst  of  the  events  which  the  historians  narrate,  and  bring 
light  and  new  meaning  into  them;  but  they  are  placed 
by  themselves.  It  is  only  by  the  work  of  scholars  that 
we  understand  where  they  belong.  For  example,  the 
reign  of  Jeroboam  II  in  Israel  is  dismissed  by  the  historian 
in  a  few  short  sentences.  But  the  prophet  Amos  preached 
in  Israel  in  that  reign,  and  described  the  life  which  he  saw 
about  him.  Also,  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  is  recorded  with 
very  little  comment  in  the  history,  but  the  five  poems 
which  make  the  book  of  Lamentations  were  written  by 
men  who  were  in  the  midst  of  that  tragedy,  and  who  ut- 
tered the  grief  which  filled  their  hearts.  As  for  the  anger 
which  also  filled  their  hearts,  we  find  that  in  the  book  of 
Obadiah.  There  is  need,  therefore,  for  such  rewriting,  or 
at  least  rearrangement,  as  shall  enable  us  to  read  the  Old 
Testament  history  step  by  step,  with  all  the  knowledge 
which  the  historians,  the  poets  and  the  prophets  together 
can  bring  to  our  assistance. 

Moreover,  during  years  of  study,  and  patience,  and 
devotion,  and  increasing  knowledge,  and  publication  of 
books,  scholars  have  been  occupied  with  these  writings. 


BACKGROUND   OF  THE   OLD    TESTAMENT     7 

Some  have  been  busy  with  their  pens,  examining  and 
recording  the  best  possible  meanings;  some  have  been 
busy  with  their  spades,  digging  in  the  dust  of  ancient 
palaces  and  libraries  and  tombs  in  Babylon  and  Nineveh 
and  Egypt,  finding  inscriptions  which  illustrate  the  Old 
Testament  history.  Thus  the  third  chapter  of  Second 
Kings  describes  a  campaign  of  Israel  and  Judah  against 
Mesha,  king  of  Moab ;  but  the  Moabite  Stone  (discovered 
1868)  tells  in  the  words  of  Mesha  himself  of  the  campaign 
in  which  he  had  his  fierce  revenge. 

To  recount  the  Old  Testament  history  in  order  and  with 
clearness,  and  to  bring  to  its  interpretation  the  words  of 
contemporary  inscription  and  poetry  and  prophecy,  for 
the  better  understanding  of  the  Bible,  is  the  purpose  of  this 
book. 


II 

THE  BEGINNING 

The  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis  tell  what  was  com- 
monly believed  among  the  Hebrews  concerning  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  the  fall  of  man,  the  flood,  and  the  origin 
of  the  nations. 

I.  The  Creation  of  the  World.  Genesis  1-2  :  3  ;  2  :  4-25. 
—  The  Hebrews  believed  that  in  the  beginning  God  made 
the  heavens  and  the  earth :  first,  light ;  then  the  over- 
arching sky  and  the  land  beneath,  with  the  waters  gathered 
into  seas ;  then  grass  and  herbs  began  to  grow  out  of  the 
ground,  and  living  creatures  appeared  in  the  water,  and  in 
the  air,  and  on  the  earth ;  and  at  last,  as  the  crown  of  His 
creation,  God  made  man,  and  gave  him  dominion  over 
all  living  things.  The  Hebrews  thought  that  this  was  done 
in  six  days.  These  "  days  "  to  us  mean  periods  of  prog- 
ress. On  the  seventh  day,  God  rested  from  His  work, 
of  which  the  weekly  sabbath  rest  is  a  commemoration. 

A  different  account,  in  the  second  chapter,  puts  first 
the  creation  of  man,  and  then  of  plants  and  animals. 
God,  having  made  man  out  of  the  dust  and  breathed  into 
his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  placed  him  in  the  garden  of 
Eden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it.  There  was  a  river  in  the 
garden,  out  of  which  flowed  four  streams,  one  of  them 
being  the  Euphrates.  In  the  midst  of  the  garden  were 
two  mysterious  trees.    One  was  the  Tree  of  Life,  whose 

8 


THE   BEGINNING  9 

fruit  would  make  the  eater  live  forever;  the  other  was 
the  Tree  of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil.  Out  of  a  rib 
of  the  man,  God  made  a  woman  to  be  his  companion  and 
a  helpmeet  for  him. 

2.  The  Fall  of  Man.  Genesis  3. — The  Hebrews  believed 
that  a  serpent  spoke  to  the  woman,  and  persuaded  her 
to  eat  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  in  spite  of  the  command 
of  God  forbidding  it.  She  gave  of  it  to  her  husband, 
and  he  also  ate.  Then  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God 
walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day,  and  they  hid 
themselves,  being  afraid.  The  Lord  God  cursed  the  ser- 
pent, condemning  it  to  crawl  upon  the  ground  and  eat  dust 
all  the  rest  of  its  days.  The  woman  He  punished  by 
sentencing  her  to  bring  forth  children  in  pain  and  sorrow. 
The  man  He  punished  by  making  thorns  and  thistles  to 
grow  in  the  ground,  thus  causing  him  to  labor  for  his 
living,  in  the  sweat  of  his  face.  And  lest  the  man  and 
woman  should  take  of  the  fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Life  and  live 
forever,  God  thrust  them  out  of  the  pleasant  garden,  and 
kept  them  from  coming  back  by  stationing  angels  at  the 
gate  with  flaming  swords. 

The  story  of  Cain  and  Abel  (Genesis  4:  1-17)  seems  to 
have  originally  belonged  to  a  later  time,  since  it  represents 
the  earth  as  already  populated.  Cain  having  killed  his 
brother  Abel,  fears  the  vengeance  of  his  kinsfolk  and  neigh- 
bors; in  the  land  to  which  he  goes  he  finds  a  woman 
whom  he  marries,  and  finds  men  among  whom  he  builds 
a  city. 

With  the  descendants  of  Cain  began  the  occupations 
of  society :  Jabal  was  the  first  shepherd.  Tubal  the  first 
blacksmith,  Jubal  the  first  to  play  on  instruments  of 
music.     Lamech,  their  father,  was  the  first  poet,  and  a  bit 


10  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

of  his  verse  is  given,  rude  in  form  and  bloodthirsty  in 
spirit.  With  the  descendants  of  Seth,  a  third  son  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  began  the  service  of  religion  (Genesis  4 :  20-26). 

3.  The  Flood.  Genesis  6-9:17.  —  There  were  giants 
in  the  earth  in  those  days,  and  mighty  heroes,  men  of 
renown  whose  mothers  were  descendants  of  Eve,  but  their 
fathers  were  sons  of  God.  The  wickedness  of  man  was 
great,  and  grew  greater,  until  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually.  God  was 
sorry  that  He  had  created  such  a  race  of  beings. 

So  the  Lord  said,  ''  I  will  destroy  man  whom  I  have 
created  from  the  face  of  the  earth ;  both  man,  and  beast, 
and  the  creeping  things,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air;  for  it 
repenteth  me  that  I  have  made  them."  But  He  spared 
the  family  of  Noah.  He  told  Noah  to  build  an  ark,  so 
many  feet  long  and  wide  and  high,  and  to  pitch  it  within 
and  without  with  pitch  to  make  it  water-tight.  Into  the 
ark  he  was  to  bring  of  all  living  creatures,  one  account 
says  two  (Genesis  7:9),  another  account  says  seven 
(Genesis  7  :  2),  of  every  kind.  This  Noah  did,  and  brought 
also  his  wife,  and  his  three  sons  and  their  wives.  Then  it 
began  to  rain,  till  all  the  high  hills  were  covered. 

When  the  rain  ceased,  and  the  water  began  to  go  down, 
the  ark  grounded  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  in  Armenia, 
called  Ararat.  Noah  sent  out  a  raven  and  a  dove,  and 
when  the  dove  came  back  she  had  in  her  mouth  an  olive 
branch  plucked  off.  So  Noah  knew  that  the  water  had 
gone  down  below  the  tops  of  the  trees.  Then  he  and  all 
that  were  in  the  ark  came  out,  and  he  offered  a  sacrifice 
and  thanked  God.  And  God  set  a  rainbow  in  the  clouds 
as  a  sign  of  His  promise  that  there  should  never  be  a 
flood  again  to  destroy  the  earth. 


THE   BEGINNING  ii 

4.  The  Origin  of  the  Nations.  Genesis  10,  11. — Thus 
the  history  of  man  began  anew.  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth, 
Noah's  sons,  became  the  fathers  of  the  nations.  They  re- 
sumed the  arts  and  occupations  of  the  old  time.  Especially, 
they  began  the  building  of  cities.  And  in  one  of  their 
cities  they  undertook  to  build  a  tower  whose  top  should 
reach  to  heaven.  It  was  like  the  endeavor  of  the  Titans 
to  pile  mountain  upon  mountain,  Pelion  upon  Ossa,  in 
order  to  climb  into  the  sky.  But  the  Lord  stopped  them. 
"  Let  us  go  down,"  He  said,  "  and  confound  their  lan- 
guage, that  they  may  not  understand  one  another's 
speech."  Thus  the  different  languages  began.  The 
Tower  of  Babel  stood  at  Babylon,  huge  and  unfinished, 
and  men  were  scattered  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth. 

The  sons  of  Japheth  became  the  nations  north  and 
west  of  the  Semitic  world.  They  were  the  northern 
peoples,  who  as  Cimmerians  (Gomer)  and  Scythians 
(Magog)  and  Medes  (Madai)  menaced  the  empires  of  the 
east,  as  the  Goths  and  Vandals  afterwards  menaced  the 
empire  of  the  west.  They  were  the  western  peoples  along 
the  shores  and  on  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
who  lived  in  Cyprus  (Kittim)  and  Rhodes  (Dodanim  = 
Rodanim),  in  Greece  (Javan  =  Ionian)  and  Italy  (Eli- 
shah)  and  Spain  (Tarshish). 

The  sons  of  Ham  became  the  nations  who  oppressed 
the  Hebrews.  They  were  the  Babylonians  (10:7-10), 
builders  of  Babylon  and  other  great  cities  in  the  land  of 
Shinar,  one  of  whose  ancient  heroes  was  Nimrod,  a  mighty 
hunter,  such  as  one  sees  pictured  on  stone  slabs,  fighting 
lions.  They  were  the  Assyrians  (10:  11,  12),  builders  of 
Nineveh.  They  were  the  Eg^-ptians  (Mizraim,  10  :  13,  14) 
from  whom  the  Hebrews  believed  the  Philistines  to  have 


12  OLD    TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

descended.  They  were  the  Canaanites,  whom  the  He- 
brews found  in  Palestine,  and  with  whom  they  fought  for 
the  possession  of  the  land,  among  whom  the  Hebrews 
included  the  Phoenicians  of  Sidon,  and  the  Jebusites  of 
Jerusalem. 

The  sons  of  Shem  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Hebrews 
themselves.  They  were  the  Persians  of  Elam,  whence 
came  Cyrus  the  deliverer ;  and  the  Arabians,  with  whose 
land  of  Ophir  Solomon  traded  for  gold,  and  whose  queen 
of  Sheba  visited  Jerusalem  (lo :  22-29) ;  and  the  dwellers 
in  Mesopotamia  (Aram),  from  whose  city  of  Haran  Abra- 
ham emigrated  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

These  names  indicate  the  ideas  of  the  Hebrews  concern- 
ing the  world  in  which  they  lived.  They  appear  in  the 
book  of  Genesis  as  the  chapters  on  foreign  nations  appear 
in  the  books  of  the  prophets  (Isaiah  15-23,  Jeremiah 
46-51,  Ezekiel  25-32).  They  reveal  the  Lord  God  as  the 
king  of  all  the  earth,  the  father  of  all  peoples,  not  of  the 
Hebrews  only.  Their  value  is  not  so  much  in  the  field  of 
ethnology  as  in  the  field  of  religion. 

A  like  value  appears  in  the  Hebrew  stories  of  the  be- 
ginnings. They  belonged,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  com- 
mon tradition  of  the  east.  The  story  of  the  flood,  for 
example,  was  told  in  Babylonia  centuries  before  the  time 
of  Abraham.  King  Ashur-bani-pal,  who  began  to  reign 
in  Nineveh  in  668  B.C.,  was  so  interested  in  antiquity 
that  he  caused  to  be  copied  for  his  library  the  oldest 
writings  of  the  world.  One  of  these  was  a  narrative  of 
the  flood,  brought  from  Babylon,  so  old  that  the  god  of 
Babylon  is  called  by  a  name  which  had  been  disused  for 
hundreds  of  years.  The  tablets  on  which  this  was  in- 
scribed are  now  preserved,  with  other  treasures  from  that 


THE   BEGINNING  13 

royal  library,  in  the  British  Museum.  They  describe  the 
ark,  made  by  divine  command,  and  tightened  with  pitch. 
All  living  creatures  of  all  kinds  are  brought  into  it.  The 
door  is  shut,  and  the  storm  begins.  Two  great  gods  march 
at  the  front  of  the  black  cloud.  All  men  are  drowned. 
Finally,  the  ark  grounds  on  the  mountain  Nisir.  On  the 
seventh  day,  a  dove  is  let  loose,  then  a  swallow,  then  a 
raven.  A  sacrifice  is  offered.  ''  The  gods  inhaled  the 
sweet  odor;  the  gods  gathered  like  flies  above  the  sacri- 
fice." Then  Ea,  god  of  wisdom,  rebuked  Bel,  god  of  war, 
and  forbade  him  ever  to  bring  a  flood  upon  the  earth  again. 
In  Genesis,  the  place  of  the  gods  is  taken  by  the  one 
Lord  God.  If  any  suggestion  of  the  old  polytheism  re- 
mains in  the  Bible  stories  it  is  in  the  words,  ''  Let  us  make 
man,"  "  Let  us  go  down  " ;  and  these  expressions  may  be 
only  the  plural  of  majesty.  The  ancient  legends  are 
purified  from  their  follies  and  errors,  and  are  filled  with  the 
light  of  a  morality  and  a  religion  such  as  we  believe  in 
to-day.  The  world  is  God's  world ;  man  is  made  in  His 
image ;  pain  and  loss  are  the  results  of  disobedience. 


Ill 

THE  STORY  OF  ABRAHAM 

I.  The  Call  of  Abraham.  Genesis  11:27-13:4. — 
Whatever  had  been  the  connection  between  the  family  of 
Abraham  and  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  (Genesis  11 :  31),  the 
story  of  his  Hfe  begins  at  Haran  in  Mesopotamia.  The 
word  Mesopotamia  means  between-the-rivers ;  that  is, 
between  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  Haran  was  almost 
midway  between  the  Tigris  and  the  Mediterranean,  on 
a  caravan  route  from  Nineveh  to  Damascus.  It  was 
thus  a  place  of  some  importance.  There  was  the  home  of 
the  Hebrews  before  they  came  to  Palestine.  There  they 
worshipped  God  under  the  form  of  the  religion  of  the 
country  (Joshua  24:  14).  Various  inscriptions  show  that 
the  chief  deity  was  the  moon-god  Sin,  whose  name  ap- 
pears in  ^' Sinai."  They  said  their  prayers  to  idols  (Gene- 
sis 31:30-34). 

There  Abraham  heard  in  his  soul  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
God  calling  him  away.  He  took  Sarah  his  wife,  and  Lot 
his  brother's  son,  and  men-servants  and  maid-servants, 
and  sheep  and  oxen  and  asses  and  camels,  a  considerable 
caravan,  and  set  out  to  find  a  new  home  in  the  west. 
The  emigration  is  undated,  and  we  have  no  help  from 
inscriptions.  Amraphel,  king  of  Shinar  ( =  Babylonia), 
who  appears  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  chapter,  is 
taken  by  some  to  be  the  great  Hammurabi,  before  2000  B.C., 

14 


THE   STORY   OF  ABRAHAM  15 

but  the  identification  is  not  certain.  The  el-Amarna  let- 
ters, about  1400,  indicate  movements  of  eastern  peoples 
into  the  west,  but  they  were  coming  as  armed  invaders. 

The  patriarchs  lived  in  that  long  past  whose  heroes  and 
events  were  described  by  word  of  mouth,  by  the  telling 
and  retelling  of  their  stories  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, hundreds  of  years  before  they  were  recorded  in  writ- 
ing. It  is  true  that  Abraham  when  he  journeyed  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Nile  left  behind  him  a  land  where  writing 
was  a  common  art,  and  came  to  a  land  where  that  art  was 
equally  common.  But  writing,  and  especially  the  writing 
of  history,  is  the  natural  occupation  of  a  settled  people. 
Wandering  tribes,  such  as  the  Hebrews  were  both  before 
and  after  their  enslavement  in  Egypt,  carry  their  tribal 
records  in  their  memories.  Driving  their  flocks  from  one 
pasture  to  another,  and  fighting  with  their  wild  neighbors 
for  the  right  to  use  the  springs,  their  history  is  for  the 
most  part  in  the  form  of  songs  and  stories.  It  is  colored 
by  their  experiences  and  their  ideals.  It  is  of  value  not 
so  much  for  its  statistics  as  for  its  moral  meanings.  It 
precedes  the  era  of  definite  dates. 

Starting  from  Haran,  Abraham  probably  followed  the 
caravan  road  west  to  Carchemish,  where  he  found  the  great 
fords  of  the  Euphrates ;  thence  he  went  south  to  Damascus, 
from  which  city  he  obtained  a  faithful  servant,  named 
Eliezer  (Genesis  15:2).  From  Damascus  he  may  have 
followed  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  till  he  crossed  by  a 
ford  which  brought  him  into  the  midst  of  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

At  Shechem,  thirty  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  in  a  fertile 
valley  between  two  mountains,  Abraham  found  a  sacred 
tree    (Genesis    12:6,   Revised  Version)    called   the  Oak 


i6  OLD    TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

of  Direction  (Moreh).  We  have  another  glimpse  of  it 
in  Judges  9:37,  where  it  is  called  the  Oak  of  the  Diviners. 
In  this  place,  already  consecrated,  he  heard  the  voice  of 
God  promising  that  all  that  country  should  belong  to  his 
descendants.  There  he  built  an  altar.  He  did  the  same 
twenty  miles  farther  south,  near  Bethel,  and  called  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  Thus  these  shrines  of  Bethel  and 
Shechem,  places  of  prayer  from  time  immemorial,  became 
sacred  in  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews.  From  Bethel, 
by  reason  of  a  famine,  Abraham  went  down  for  a  time  to 
Egypt,  afterwards  returning  to  Bethel. 

The  account  of  Abraham  in  Egypt  illustrates  the  manner 
in  which  the  history  was  written,  and  enables  us  to  explain 
the  meaning  of  many  differences  of  statements.  The  story 
is  that  Abraham,  fearing  lest  Pharaoh  should  kill  him  in 
order  to  take  away  his  beautiful  wife,  said  that  Sarah  was 
his  sister.  Pharaoh  took  Sarah,  as  Abraham  had  feared, 
but  he  not  only  spared  but  enriched  Abraham  as  Sarah's 
brother.  A  plague  coming  upon  the  court  of  Pharaoh 
revealed  the  deception,  and  Abraham  and  Sarah  were  sent 
away  in  peace  (Genesis  12).  The  same  story  is  told  a 
little  later  on  (Genesis  20),  except  that  now  the  place  is 
the  South  Country,  and  the  king  is  Abimelech.  And  again 
the  story  is  repeated  (Genesis  26: 1-14),  where  the  place 
is  the  South  Country,  and  the  king  is  Abimelech,  but  now 
the  actors  instead  of  being  Abraham  and  Sarah  are  Isaac 
and  Rebekah.  It  is  of  course  possible  that  this  falsehood 
was  told  three  times.  It  is  more  probable,  however,  that 
the  compiler  of  the  history  found  the  story  in  these  three 
forms,  and  brought  them  all  into  his  narrative.  In  one 
part  of  the  country,  the  incident  was  remembered  in  one 
way ;  in  another  part  of  the  country,  in  a  different  way. 


THE   STORY   OF  ABRAHAM  17 

Not  being  concerned  with  historical  values,  the  differences 
and  the  likenesses  presented  no  difficulty  to  his  mind. 

When  the  stories  are  compared  it  appears  that  Sarah, 
who  in  the  twentieth  chapter  is  so  young  and  fair  that 
Abimelech  proposes  to  take  her  as  one  of  his  wives,  was 
already  described  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  as  ninety 
years  of  age.  The  two  chapters  were  independent  narra- 
tives, placed  in  their  present  order  by  the  compiler. 

2.  The  Fortunes  of  Lot.  Genesis  13 : 5-14 :  24 ; 
18 ;  19 : 1-29.  —  The  land  being  well  populated,  and 
Abraham  and  Lot  having  many  flocks  and  herds,  they 
agreed  to  separate.  From  the  heights  near  Bethel,  they 
viewed  the  land.  Lot  chose  the  fertile  valley  of  the 
Jordan  by  the  Dead  Sea,  fair  as  the  Garden  of  Eden; 
to  Abraham  were  left  the  gray  hills  of  Judah.  Lot  settled 
in  Sodom;  Abraham  settled  in  Hebron,  in  the  south, 
under  the  oaks  of  Mamre. 

Then  Lot,  who  had  chosen  what  seemed  to  him  the  better 
place,  and  the  easier  life,  encountered  disaster. 

First,  there  came  kings  from  the  east,  from  Shinar  and 
Elam,  by  the  lower  waters  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
an  allied  army  of  invasion,  marching  west  like  the  hosts 
of  Sennacherib  and  Nebuchadnezzar  in  after  times.  They 
conquered  the  giants  who  lived  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan, 
the  Rephaim,  the  Zuzim,  and  the  Emim  {im  is  the  Hebrew 
plural  ending  like  our  s).  Then  they  fell  upon  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah.  They  took  the  two  cities  and  plundered 
them  and  carried  away  captives.  Lot  among  them.  Then 
appeared  Abraham  as  a  valiant  warrior.  He  assembled 
his  three  hundred  and  eighteen  stout  servants,  and  sur- 
prised the  victors  by  night  as  they  were  encamped  by  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan.     The  story  says  that  Abraham 


i8  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

not  only  routed  the  army  of  the  eastern  kings  but  that  he 
chased  them  for  a  hundred  miles,  from  Dan  to  Hobah. 
The  main  point,  however,  is  that  he  rescued  Lot  and  his 
neighbors,  and  regained  their  stolen  property.  Returning 
from  this  exploit,  Abraham  was  met  by  Melchizedek, 
king  of  Jerusalem,  who  refreshed  him  with  bread  and 
wine,  and  blessed  him  (Hebrews  7  :  1-17).  Then  the  king 
of  Sodom  met  him,  saying,  '^  Give  me  the  persons,  and 
take  the  goods  to  thyself."  But  Abraham  declined  to 
take  for  himself  even  so  much  as  a  thread. 

The  people  of  Sodom  were  wicked  exceedingly.  They 
lived  shamefully,  and  were  inhospitable  to  strangers. 
At  last  it  happened  to  them  as  to  the  unfriendly  city  in 
the  Greek  story  of  Baucis  and  Philemon,  which  Hawthorne 
retold  in  the  tale  of  the  "  Miraculous  Pitcher."  One  day 
there  came  to  Abraham's  tent  three  heavenly  visitants. 
One  was  the  Lord  God,  the  others  were  attendant  angels. 
But  they  looked  like  three  men.  Abraham  was  very 
courteous  to  them,  and  Sarah  made  bread  for  them,  and 
roasted  the  tender  flesh  of  a  calf,  and  put  butter  and  milk 
upon  the  table,  and  they  ate.  And  the  man  who  was 
the  Lord  God  told  Abraham  that  he  and  Sarah  in  their 
old  age  would  have  a  son ;  at  which,  Sarah,  who  was  behind 
the  tent  door,  laughed  to  herself,  thinking  it  a  foolish 
saying. 

The  man  who  was  the  Lord  God  said  to  Abraham,  "  I 
have  heard  that  the  sin  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is  very 
grievous.  I  am  going  now  to  see  for  myself  whether  they 
are  as  wicked  as  they  are  reported  to  me  to  be,  or  not." 
But  he  promised  Abraham  that  he  would  spare  Sodom  if 
fifty,  or  forty-five,  or  forty,  or  thirty,  or  twenty,  or  even 
ten  righteous  men  should  be  found  therein.    The  two 


THE   STORY  OF  ABRAHAM  19 

angels  discovered,  however,  that  the  place  was  even 
worse  than  they  had  expected.  So  the  next  day,  the  Lord 
rained  fire  and  brimstone  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and 
they  were  consumed.  Only  Lot  and  his  family  escaped. 
Even  Lot's  wife,  who  tarried  and  looked  back,  was  over- 
taken by  the  fearful  storm,  and  became  a  pillar  of  salt. 

3.  The  Covenant  with  Abraham.  Genesis  15;  17; 
22. — The  supreme  fact  about  Abraham,  as  he  appears  in 
the  history,  is  the  covenant  which  he  made  with  God. 
It  was  promised  to  him  by  the  Lord  God  that  his  descend- 
ants should  become  a  great  and  mighty  nation,  and  that  in 
him  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed. 

One  time  (Genesis  15)  this  splendid  vision  of  the  future 
came  to  him  as  he  offered  a  sacrifice  of  beasts  and  birds. 
It  was  in  the  night  in  the  midst  of  a  deep  sleep  and  a  horror 
of  great  darkness.  The  Lord  told  him  that  his  children 
and  his  children's  children  should  be  in  number  like  the 
stars  of  heaven.  Abraham  laid  out  the  pieces  of  the  slain 
beasts  and  birds  in  two  rows,  and  between  the  rows,  in  the 
dark  night,  passed  a  smoking  furnace  and  a  flaming  torch. 

Another  time  (Genesis  22)  the  vision  came  to  him  in 
connection  with  a  very  different  sacrifice.  The  son  was 
born  whom  the  Lord  God  promised  when  he  dined  with 
Abraham,  and  was  named  Isaac  (=  the  laugher)  because 
his  mother  laughed  at  the  promise  of  hi^  birth,  in  doubt 
(Genesis  18 :  12)  or  in  joy  (Genesis  21:6).  All  the  hopes 
of  Abraham  were  centred  upon  him.  There  was  indeed 
a  son  named  Ishmael,  but  his  mother  Hagar  was  an  in- 
ferior wife.  Those  were  the  days  when  men  had  more 
wives  than  one.  Hagar  and  her  son  had  been  sent  away 
into  the  deserts,  where  he  grew  to  be  a  hunter  (Genesis  16 ; 
21 : 1-2 1).    Isaac  was  Sarah's  only  son.     But  it  was  borne 


20  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

in  upon  the  mind  of  Abraham  that  he  ought  to  offer  Isaac 
as  a  sacrifice  to  God.  Such  an  act  was  the  supreme  ex- 
pression of  faith  or  of  prayer  in  primitive  religion.  The 
idea  of  it  continued  long  among  the  Hebrews  (Micah  6  :  7) 
and  was  fulfilled  by  Jephthah  (Judges  1 1 :  34-40)  and  by 
Ahaz  (II  Kings  16:3),  ^^^  tempted  people  as  late  as  the 
reign  of  Josiah  (II  Kings  23 :  10).  Abraham  was  in  this 
very  act  of  human  sacrifice,  when  he  heard  the  voice  of 
God  forbidding  him.  Then  the  covenant  was  renewed. 
"  In  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will 
multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the  heavens,  and  as  the 
sand  which  is  upon  the  seashore;  and  in  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 

The  promise  was  repeated  (Genesis  17:1-10)  in  con- 
nection with  the  rite  of  circumcision,  which  the  Hebrews 
shared  with  their  Semitic  neighbors.  The  Babylonians  and 
Assyrians  did  not  practise  it ;  neither  did  the  Philistines. 
But  it  was  common  among  the  Egyptians  and  the  Arabs. 
It  was  accounted  among  the  Hebrews  as  a  token  of  the 
covenant. 


IV 
ISAAC  AND   JACOB 

I.  The  Wooing  of  Rebekah.  Genesis  23,  24. —Isaac 
plays  but  a  passive  part  in  these  narratives.  It  is  remem- 
bered of  him  that  he  was  almost  sacrificed  by  his  father, 
and  that  he  was  deceived  by  his  son.  Even  the  wooing 
of  Rebekah  his  wife  was  done  for  him  by  his  father's  ser- 
vant ;   but  that  was  the  custom  of  the  country. 

The  interesting  and  beautiful  story  of  the  mission  of 
Abraham's  servant  to  Mesopotamia  to  find  a  wife  for  Isaac 
is  told  at  length. 

Sarah  died  and  was  buried  at  Hebron,  in  the  cave  of 
Machpelah.  The  ceremony  of  the  transaction  of  the 
purchase  of  the  field  and  the  cave  and  the  surrounding 
trees  is  described  in  detail,  and  may  be  compared  with  the 
similar  courtesies  which  accompanied  the  purchase  by 
David  of  the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite 
(II  Samuel  24:18-25).  This  was  the  first  permanent 
possession  of  the  Hebrews.  There  Abraham  was  buried 
in  his  turn,  and  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  and  Jacob  and 
Leah,  after  him  (Genesis  49:30;   50:13). 

Abraham  sent  his  servant  to  the  old  home  of  his  family 
at  Haran.  There  Rebekah  met  him  at  the  well,  the 
daughter  of  Bethuel,  and  granddaughter  of  Nahor,  Abra- 
ham's brother  (Genesis  11 :  27-29).  The  servant  brought 
forth  the  jewels  which  his  master  had  sent  —  gold  and 
silver,  and  a  nose  ring  (Genesis  24 :  47,  Revised  Version) 

21 


22  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

and  bracelets.  And  Rebekah  returned  with  him,  bringing 
her  nurse.  They  found  Isaac  meditating  in  the  field  at 
eventide,  and  Isaac  took  Rebekah  to  the  tent  which  had 
been  his  mother's.  So  they  were  married,  and  he  loved 
her,  and  was  comforted  after  his  mother's  death.  The 
story  is  filled  with  the  spirit  of  domestic  affection. 

2.  Jacob  and  Esau.  Genesis  27,  28.  —  The  first-born 
of  the  twin  sons  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah  was  named  Esau, 
which  means  "  red,"  and  the  other  was  named  Jacob, 
meaning  "  heel-holder,"  because  at  his  birth  he  had  hold 
of  his  brother  by  the  heel.  Esau  grew  up  a  careless  lad, 
fond  of  hunting  in  the  woods;  Jacob  stayed  quietly  at 
home,  and  was  the  favorite  of  his  mother. 

One  day  the  younger  son,  taking  advantage  of  his  brother's 
hunger,  bought  the  birthright  of  him.  "  Give  me  some- 
thing to  eat,"  cried  Esau.  "  I  will  sell  it  to  you,"  said 
Jacob,  "  for  your  birthright."  Thus  the  two  are  con- 
trasted, Jacob  the  prudent  wdth  Esau  the  imprudent, 
Esau  intent  only  on  present  and  immediate  satisfaction, 
Jacob  thinking  of  the  future.  Then  when  the  time  came 
for  Isaac  in  his  old  age  to  make  what  we  should  call  his 
will,  to  give  each  son  his  blessing,  Jacob  came  first  to  his 
blind  father  and  pretended  to  be  Esau,  and  received  the 
better  blessing.  The  narrative  represents  a  process  of 
selection.  As  Isaac  had  been  chosen,  and  Ishmael  sent 
into  the  wilderness  to  become  the  father  of  the  roving 
Ishmaelites,  so  Jacob  was  chosen  and  Esau  went  away 
out  of  the  land  of  Canaan  to  Mount  Seir  beyond  the  Dead 
Sea,  and  became  the  father  of  the  Edomites  (Genesis 
36:6-8). 

The  historian  makes  no  comment  upon  the  treachery 
of  Jacob.     He  sets  down  side  by  side  the  good  and  bad 


ISAAC   AND   JACOB  23 

qualities  of  each  of  the  brothers.  The  sympathy  of  the 
reader  goes  with  the  careless  and  generous  Esau.  It  is 
plain,  however,  that  with  his  faults  Jacob  had  the  more 
substantial  virtues.  It  was  therefore  with  Jacob  that 
God  confirmed  the  covenant  which  he  had  made  with 
Abraham.  The  great  vision  of  the  future  came  to  Jacob 
at  the  shrine  of  Bethel.  Overtaken  by  night,  he  had  lain 
down  there  to  sleep,  having  a  stone  for  his  pillow.  He 
dreamed  that  he  saw  a  ladder  reaching  up  to  heaven,  with 
angels  ascending  and  descending  upon  it,  and  he  heard  the 
voice  of  God  saying  to  him  as  He  had  said  to  Abraham, 
' '  To  thee  will  I  give  this  land  and  to  thy  descendants.  And 
thine  offspring  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  thou 
shalt  spread  abroad  throughout  this  country."  When 
Jacob  awoke,  he  marked  the  spot  where  he  had  dreamed 
this  dream  by  setting  up  the  stone  on  which  his  head  had 
rested,  and  pouring  oil  upon  it.  This  was  the  rude  building 
of  a  shrine.  Such  a  sacred  stone  (Mazzebah)  anointed 
with  oil  or  garlanded  with  flowers  was  already  the  indica- 
tion in  that  country  of  the  places  where  men  had  become 
aware  of  the  divine  presence. 

3.  Jacob  in  Haran.  Genesis  29:1-30;  30:25-31:55. 
—  Coming  into  the  neighborhood  of  Haran,  Jacob  found 
his  cousin  Rachel,  as  Abraham's  servant  had  found 
Rebekah,  by  the  well.  She  took  him  to  her  father  Laban, 
his  mother's  brother  (Genesis  24 :  29),  and  he  entered  into 
Laban 's  service.  When  they  came  to  make  an  agreement 
as  to  wages,  Jacob  asked  for  Rachel,  whom  he  already 
loved.  Laban  said  that  he  might  have  Rachel  if  he  would 
serve  him  seven  years.  But  when  the  seven  years  were 
over,  Laban  gave  Jacob  his  older  daughter  Leah,  and  made 
him  serve  for  Rachel  seven  years  longer. 


24  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Jacob  worked  for  Laban  twenty  years.  He  said  after- 
wards, looking  back  over  his  labors,  "  in  the  day  the 
drought  consumed  me,  and  the  frost  by  night  " ;  and  he 
added  that  Laban  had  ten  times  changed  his  wages,  mak- 
ing the  work  harder  and  the  pay  smaller.  Still,  he  pros- 
pered. Twelve  sons  and  a  daughter  were  bom  to  him, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  injustice  of  Laban,  he  grew  rich.  One 
time  it  was  agreed  that  his  pay  should  be  all  the  black 
sheep  and  all  the  speckled  goats;  and  that  year  all  the 
good  sheep  were  black,  and  all  the  sturdy  goats  were 
speckled.  Thus  his  flocks  increased,  but  the  dislike  and 
suspicion  of  his  father-in-law  increased  also. 

At  last,  while  Laban  was  away  at  the  sheep-shearing, 
Jacob  gathered  together  his  wives  and  children  and  his 
cattle,  and  started  for  the  land  of  Canaan.  Rachel,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  her  husband,  stole  her  father's 
sacred  images.  Idols,  such  as  these,  serving  perhaps 
as  household  gods,  are  found  later  in  the  shrine  at  which 
Gershom,  the  grandson  of  Moses,  served  as  priest  for  the 
tribe  of  Dan  (Judges  18:5,  30,  31).  David  had  such 
images  in  his  house  when  Saul  tried  to  kill  him,  and 
Michal,  David's  wife,  laid  one  of  these  in  David's  bed, 
with  its  head  on  the  pillow  and  the  bedclothes  tucked  in 
about  it,  that  the  messengers  whom  Saul  sent  might  think 
that  it  was  David,  sick  (I  Samuel  19:13-16).  Laban 
came  in  angry  pursuit,  accusing  Jacob  of  both  cheating 
and  stealing.  But  the  gods  could  not  be  found,  for  Rachel, 
who  had  hidden  them  under  the  camel's  saddle,  sat  upon 
the  saddle.  Finally,  Jacob  and  Laban  piled  up  a  heap  of 
stones  and  called  it  Mizpah,  the  watch  tower,  and  made 
an  agreement  of  peace.  Then  Laban  returned,  and  Jacob 
continued  on  his  way. 


ISAAC   AND   JACOB  25 

4.  The  Wrestling  of  Jacob.  Genesis  32,  33.  —  The 
return  of  Jacob  from  Mesopotamia  to  Canaan,  with  the 
twelve  sons  who  became  the  fathers  of  twelve  tribes,  repre- 
sents an  emigration  of  eastern  people  into  the  west  such  as 
had  taken  place  under  the  leadership  of  Abraham.  The 
interest  of  the  historian,  however,  is  not  in  these  successive 
colonizations  of  Palestine,  but  in  the  successive  revelations 
of  the  providence  of  God.  The  central  person  in  the  record 
is  not  Abraham,  nor  Isaac,  nor  Jacob,  but  the  Lord  God. 
Thus  an  account  is  given  of  what  was  taking  place  in  the 
soul  of  Jacob.     On  his  way,  God  met  him. 

Jacob  was  encamped  beside  the  river  Jabbok,  ready 
on  the  morrow  to  cross  the  Jordan.  He  had  been  informed 
that  his  brother  Esau  was  awaiting  him  across  the  river, 
and  he  was  afraid.  He  seemed  to  have  escaped  the  anger 
of  his  father-in-law  only  to  encounter  the  anger  of  the 
brother  whom  he  had  defrauded.  In  the  night,  alone  in 
the  darkness  beside  the  river,  there  came  a  man  and 
wrestled  with  him  till  the  break  of  day.  No  explanation 
of  this  mysterious  struggle  is  given,  but  the  victory  of  Jacob 
is  recorded,  and  in  commemoration  of  it  he  is  given  the 
name  of  Israel,  meaning  "he-who-perseveres-with-God." 
He  had  made  his  way  all  along  in  the  face  of  difficulty. 
He  had  striven,  as  the  mysterious  wrestler  said,  with  God 
and  with  men,  and  had  prevailed.  His  life  was  to  be  an 
assurance  to  all  who  should  come  after  him  that  obstacles 
do  not  prevent  success.  Abrahami  had  seen  the  splendid 
vision  of  national  greatness ;  he  represents  the  ideal  which 
the  Hebrews  never  forgot,  which  made  them  different 
from  all  their  contented  neighbors.  They  were  to  be  a 
mighty  people,  bringing  blessing  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.     Jacob  perceived  that  this  ideal  could  be  attained 


26  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

only  by  the  conquest  of  difficulty;  he  represents  the 
hope  which  sustained  the  Hebrews  in  all  times  of  their 
tribulation;  that  out  of  adversity,  wrestling  even  with 
God,  they  should  come  forth  triumphant. 

Then  on  the  morrow  Esau  met  him  and  was  generous 
and  friendly  and  forgiving.  Jacob  settled  for  a  time  in 
Shechem,  till  his  sons  quarrelled  with  the  men  of  that  place. 
Here,  as  often  elsewhere,  that  which  is  described  as  the 
action  of  individuals  may  be  an  account  of  the  contention 
of  tribes.  Thus  Jacob's  daughter  Dinah  may  represent  a 
clan  of  Israel;  her  connection  with  Shechem  may  mean 
that  the  clan  was  intermarrying  with  the  Canaanites  of 
that  district,  and  was  in  danger  of  being  absorbed.  The 
tribes  of  Simeon  and  Levi  interfere  to  prevent  this,  and 
are  defeated  by  the  Canaanites  with  such  effect  that  they 
lose  their  place  among  the  tribes  of  Israel  (Genesis  49 :  7). 

Jacob  journeyed  south  to  Bethel,  first  taking  the  idols 
which  had  been  brought  from  Haran,  and  burying  them 
under  the  sacred  oak  (Genesis  35 : 4).  At  Bethlehem 
(Ephrath),  as  he  Journeyed  to  the  south,  Rachel  died 
at  the  birth  of  Benjamin  (Jeremiah  31 :  15,  Matthew 
2:18).  At  last,  the  patriarch  pitched  his  tent  beyond  the 
tower  of  Eder  (Genesis  35 :  21,  27)  in  the  vicinity  of 
Hebron. 


THE   STORY  OF  JOSEPH 

I.  The  Selling  of  Joseph.  Genesis  37.  —  The  parable 
of  the  Wrestling  of  Jacob  found  fulfilment  in  the  experi- 
ence of  Joseph.  In  the  midst  of  difl&culties  which  seemed 
to  insure  inevitable  failure,  he  made  his  way  to  high  posi- 
tion.    The  story  is  full  of  unfailing  human  interest. 

Of  the  twelve  sons,  Jacob  cared  most  for  Joseph,  whose 
mother  was  Rachel.  He  showed  his  preference  by  clothing 
him  in  a  coat  of  many  colors,  or,  according  to  another 
translation,  in  a  long  gown  with  sleeves.  The  dislike 
which  was  consequently  felt  for  him  by  his  brothers  was 
increased  by  his  own  claims  of  superiority.  He  dreamed 
that  as  they  were  binding  sheaves,  his  sheaf  stood  upright 
and  all  their  sheaves  came  and  bowed  before  it.  He 
dreamed  again  that  the  sun  and  moon  and  eleven  stars 
made  obeisance  to  him ;  the  sun  meaning  his  father,  and 
the  moon  his  mother.  At  this  point  the  historian  is  evi- 
dently using  a  version  of  the  story  different  from  the 
version  which  had  already  contained  an  account  of  his 
mother's  death. 

Then,  one  day,  Joseph  being  sent  by  his  father  to  find  his 
brothers  where  they  fed  their  flocks,  and  following  them 
north  to  Shechem,  and  still  farther  north  to  Dothan,  by 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  they  saw  him  coming  and  plotted 
to  get  rid  of  him.     Here  again  a  difference  of  statement  is 

27 


28  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

explained  by  the  historian's  use  of  the  ancient  accounts. 
As  the  story  was  told  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  Joseph  was 
saved  from  death  by  Judah,  who  proposed  selling  him 
instead  of  killing  him ;  and  he  was  sold  to  a  company  of 
Ishmaelites.  As  the  story  was  told  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
the  saviour  of  Joseph  was  Reuben,  at  whose  suggestion 
he  was  put  in  a  pit,  whence  he  was  taken  up  and  sold  to  a 
company  of  Midianites.  The  purchasers  of  Joseph  carried 
him  to  Egypt.  "  Now,"  said  the  brothers,  "  we  shall 
see  what  will  become  of  his  dreams."  They  took  his  coat, 
and  dipped  it  in  the  blood  of  a  goat,  and  brought  it  to  their 
father.  "  See,"  they  cried,  "  what  we  have  found !  Is  it 
not  Joseph's  coat?"  And  Jacob  said,  "It  is  my  son's 
coat ;  an  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him ;  Joseph  is  without 
doubt  torn  in  pieces." 

2.  The  Glory  of  Joseph.  Genesis  39-41.  —  So  Joseph 
w^as  brought  down  to  Egypt,  and  sold  to  Potiphar,  captain 
of  Pharaoh's  guard.  The  young  man  found  favor  in  his 
master's  sight,  and  came  presently  to  be  overseer  of  his 
household.  He  found  favor  in  the  sight  of  his  mistress 
also,  who  tempted  him  to  be  unfaithful  to  his  master,  and, 
when  he  refused,  brought  a  false  accusation  against  him. 
He  was  accordingly  put  out  of  his  position,  and  cast  into 
prison. 

But  the  keeper  of  the  prison  trusted  Joseph,  and  made 
him  overseer  of  the  prisoners.  His  appearance  and  his 
evident  ability  impressed  the  keeper  as  they  had  im- 
pressed the  captain.  Then  two  prisoners,  the  butler  and 
the  baker  of  the  king,  each  dreamed  a  dream,  and  came  to 
Joseph  to  have  their  dreams  interpreted.  According  to 
his  interpretation  the  butler  would  presently  be  pardoned, 
but  the  baker  would  be  hanged.     And  thus  it  came  to  pass. 


THE  STORY  OF  JOSEPH  29 

Then  Pharaoh  dreamed,  and  when  the  court  interpreters 
failed  to  give  an  explanation  the  butler  remembered  Joseph. 
Joseph  said  that  the  dream  meant  that  seven  years  of 
plenty  were  to  be  followed  by  seven  years  of  famine  in  all 
the  land  of  Egypt ;  and  he  ventured  to  suggest  that  grain 
be  laid  by  in  storehouses  during  the  time  of  plenty  to  be 
ready  for  the  time  of  want.  Thereupon  Pharaoh  said, 
'^  Where  can  I  find  a  wiser  man  than  Joseph?  "  He  put 
his  ring  upon  the  hand  of  Joseph,  and  clothed  him  in  fine 
linen,  and  put  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck,  and  made  him 
ride  in  his  second  chariot,  and  set  him  over  all  the  kingdom. 
Joseph  married  Asenath,  the  daughter  of  the  priest  of  On, 
and  had  two  sons,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  And  when  the 
famine  came  he  sold  grain  till  the  hungry  people  paid  him 
first  their  cattle,  and  then  their  land,  and  then  themselves : 
all  became  Pharaoh's  (Genesis  47  :  13-26). 

The  word  "  Pharaoh  "  is  a  title  rather  than  a  name,  like 
the  word  "  Emperor."  The  name  of  Joseph's  Pharaoh  is 
not  given.  The  local  references  in  the  narrative  do  not 
indicate  any  particular  reign.  The  first  clear  date  in  the 
Old  Testament  is  in  the  statement  (Exodus  i :  11)  that  the 
Hebrews  in  Egypt  built  for  Phardoh  store-cities,  Pithom 
and  Raamses.  These  cities  were  erected,  as  the  ruins 
show,  in  the  time  of  Rameses  H  (i 295-1 225  B.C.). 
Even  so,  the  length  of  time  from  Moses  back  to  Joseph  is 
so  differently  stated  that  we  cannot  be  sure  about  it. 
Was  it  four  generations,  or  four  centuries?  The  longer 
time  appears  in  some  passages  (Genesis  15:13,  Exodus 
12:40,  followed  in  Galatians  3:17);  in  other  passages 
(Genesis  15:16,  Exodus  6:16-20)  the  shorter.  The 
shorter  period,  of  four  generations  (=  about  150  years), 
seems  somewhat  more  likely,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 


30  OLD    TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Hebrews  were  able  to  maintain  their  racial  identity.  In 
that  case,  the  Pharaoh  of  Joseph's  day  was  probably 
Amenhotep  IV,  who  died  about  1350  B.C.  He  was  the 
reforming  Pharaoh  who  tried  to  substitute  the  sun  god  for 
all  the  gods  of  Egypt.  He  built  the  palace  at  Tell  el- 
Amarna,  and  it  was  to  him  that  the  famous  letters  from 
Canaan  were  written.  In  his  day  a  Semite  named  Yan- 
hamu  had  control  of  the  stores  of  grain  in  the  Delta  of  the 
Nile,  and  was  in  authority  over  Palestine.  So  the  in- 
scriptions say.  It  shows  the  possibility  in  that  age  of 
the  attainment  of  high  position  by  a  Hebrew  such  as 
Joseph. 

3.  Joseph  and  his  Brethren.  Genesis  42-45 :  15.  — 
Among  those  whom  the  famine  drove  to  the  court  of 
Pharaoh  to  buy  grain  were  Joseph's  brothers.  He  knew 
them,  but  in  his  glory  they  knew  him  not.  At  first  he  put 
them  into  prison  on  the  charge  of  being  spies.  Then  he 
kept  Simeon  only,  and  released  the  others  with  food  for 
their  families,  on  condition  that  they  would  come  again 
and  bring  their  youngest  brother,  Benjamin;  he  being 
Joseph's  own  brother,  the  son  of  Rachel.  So  they  de- 
parted. When  they  opened  their  sacks  they  were  surprised 
to  find  in  each  sack  the  money  which  they  had  paid. 

The  famine  continued  in  the  land  of  Canaan  as  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  the  brothers  went  again  to  buy  food, 
taking  Benjamin  with  them.  But  this  time,  when  they 
set  out  to  return,  Joseph  caused  his  silver  cup  to  be  hidden 
in  Benjamin's  sack,  and  sent  an  officer  after  them  to  arrest 
the  thief.  Back  they  all  came  in  deep  distress,  and 
Judah  offered  to  take  the  place  of  Benjamin  and  suffer 
in  his  stead.  Thus  did  Joseph  test  his  brothers  to  see  if 
they  had  improved  as  they  grew  older,  or  if  they  were  still 


THE   STORY   OF   JOSEPH  31 

as  selfish  as  before.  Then  he  told  them  who  he  was,  to 
their  great  amazement. 

4.  Israel  in  Egypt.  Genesis  45:  16-50:  26. — Immedi- 
ately Joseph  sent  for  his  father  and  for  all  the  family  of 
Israel,  providing  Eg)^tian  wagons  to  convey  them.  And 
Jacob  saw  again  the  son  whom  he  had  mourned  as  dead. 
Learning  that  Joseph's  kindred  were  shepherds,  Pharaoh 
gave  them  grazing  lands  in  Goshen,  a  district  between  the 
Delta  of  the  Nile  and  the  isthmus  of  Suez.  There  they 
fed  their  flocks  and  prospered.  There  at  the  end  of  his 
long  life  Jacob  blessed  them :  first  Ephraim,  thenManasseh, 
sons  of  Joseph ;  then  the  others.  In  the  poem  called  the 
Blessing  of  Jacob  the  sons  are  described  not  as  individuals 
but  as  tribes.  The  days  of  their  slavery  in  Egypt  and  of 
their  wanderings  in  the  wilderness  are  over,  and  they  are 
settled  in  the  promised  land.  The  strong  tribe  of  Judah 
holds  the  sceptre  in  the  south ;  the  strong  tribe  of  Joseph 
(=  Ephraim)  abides  in  might  in  the  fertile  places  of  the 
north.  "- 

When  Jacob  died  they  carried  his  body  to  Hebron,  and 
buried  him  in  the  cave  of  Machpefah.  Notice  is  taken  of 
the  fact  that  his  body  was  embalmed  in  the  Egyptian 
manner,  after  the  fashion  of  the  ancient  mummies.  And 
Joseph  died,  and  his  body  was  embalmed  likewise,  and 
put  in  a  coffin,  —  in  a  decorated  mummy-case  such  as 
one  sees  in  Egyptian  rooms  of  great  museums,  —  until  the 
sojourn  in  Egypt  should  be  over,  and  the  people  should 
return,  bearing  the  body  of  Joseph  with  them,  to  the  land  of 
Canaan. 


VI 

MOSES  AND   THE  EXODUS 

I.  The  Oppression  of  the  IsraeHtes.  Exodus  i.  —  None 
of  the  Pharaohs  of  the  books  of  Genesis  and  Exodus  is 
called  by  his  name.  The  record  is  like  an  account  of  Eng- 
lish history  which  should  speak  of  "  the  king,"  but  never  of 
King  William,  or  King  Henry,  or  King  John.  In  such  a 
case  the  natural  inference  would  be  that  the  writer  lived 
so  long  after  the  event  that  the  memories  which  had  come 
down  to  him  contained  no  distinction  between  one  king 
and  another.  So  it  is  with  the  history  of  the  Hebrews. 
When  we  come  to  the  books  of  the  kings  we  read  of  Pharaoh 
Shishak  (I  Kings  14:  25)  and  Pharaoh  Nechoh  (II  Kings 
23 :  29),  but  in  Genesis  and  Exodus  we  are  still  deaUng 
with  the  times  before  definite  historical  records  began. 
The  excavation  of  the  store-city  of  Pithom  which  the  men 
of  Israel  built  (Exodus  i :  11)  shows  that  it  was  erected  in 
the  reign  of  Rameses  II  (i 295-1 225  B.C.).  It  is  therefore 
likely  that  he  was  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression.  In 
that  case,  the  exodus  may  have  taken  place  about  1200  B.C. 
The  number  of  the  Israelites  is  variously  stated.  It  is 
said  in  one  place  that  they  were  six  hundred  thousand 
(Exodus  12  :  37).  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  said  that  two 
nurses  were  enough  to  assist  the  Hebrew  mothers  at  the 
birth  of  their  children  (Exodus  i  :  10).  These  differences 
indicate  not  only  that  the  compiler  of  the  ancient  records 
used  now  one  version  and  now  another,  but  that  all  the 

32 


MOSES   AND   THE   EXODUS  33 

memories  and  traditions  were  like  inscriptions  which  are 
so  old  that  time  and  accident  and  change  have  marred 
them,  blotting  out  words  here  and  there,  and  making  the 
reader  uncertain  of  the  meaning.  They  are  marks  of 
great  age. 

It  is  plain  that  the  Hebrew  people  were  sufficiently 
numerous  to  give  the  Egyptians  cause  for  alarm.  It 
w^as  feared  that  on  the  occasion  of  the  appearance  of  a 
foreign  enemy,  the  Hebrews  might  rise  up  to  assist  them. 
Thus  not  only  were  their  lives  made  bitter  with  hard 
service  in  brick  and  in  mortar  in  the  building  operations  for 
which  the  reign  of  Rameses  II  is  famous,  but  an  endeavor 
was  made  to  stop  their  growth  by  putting  their  male 
children  to  death. 

2.  The  Call  of  Moses.  Exodus  2-4. — Under  these 
hard  conditions  Moses  was  born,  the  son  of  Amram  and 
Jochebed  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  (Exodus  6 :  20).  When  he 
was  three  months  old  he  was  put  into  an  ark  of  bulrushes 
among  the  reeds  of  the  river,  where  he  would  be  found  by 
Pharaoh's  daughter.  The  princess  adopted  him,  and  he 
was  brought  up  and  educated  in  the  palace.  As  he  came 
to  manhood,  however,  it  was  perceived  that  his  sym- 
pathies were  with  his  own  people.  One  day,  finding  an 
Egyptian  beating  a  Hebrew,  he  smote  the  Egyptian  and 
killed  him.  Being  thus  disclosed  as  the  possible  leader  of 
a  slave  rebellion,  he  was  obliged  to  flee  the  country. 
Thus  he  came  into  the  land  of  Midian. 

East  of  Egypt,  across  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  is  the  penin- 
sula of  Sinai,  between  two  arms  of  the  Red  Sea.  The  arm 
of  the  Red  Sea  on  the  west  of  the  peninsula  is  the  Gulf  of 
Suez;  the  arm  on  the  east  is  the  Gulf  of  Akabah.  The 
land  of  Goshen,  where  the  Hebrews  lived,  is  at  the  top  of 

D 


34  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

the  Gulf  of  Suez.  The  land  of  Midian,  to  which  Moses 
fled,  cannot  be  so  definitely  located,  because  the  Midian- 
ites  were  roving  people,  driving  their  flocks  from  place  to 
place.  Some  of  them  appear  in  the  story  of  Joseph  near 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  on  their  camels,  carrying  mer- 
chandise to  Egypt.  They  who  received  Moses  seem  to 
have  had  their  residence  by  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  east  or 
northeast.  They  are  described  as  kinsfolk  of  the  Hebrews, 
descendants  of  Abraham  (Genesis  25 :  1-4).  A  priest  of 
Midian  named  Jethro  (or  Hobab,  Judges  4:11)  gave 
Moses  a  place  in  his  own  family,  and  he  married  Zipporah 
his  daughter. 

Years  passed,  and  Moses  fed  the  flocks  of  his  father- 
in-law.  Then  he  came  in  search  of  pasture  to  the  moun- 
tain which  is  sometimes  called  Horeb  (Exodus  3:1, 
Deuteronomy  4:  10-15),  and  sometimes  Sinai.  There  he 
had  a  vision  of  God  in  the  flame  of  a  burning  bush,  and 
heard  in  his  soul  the  voice  of  God  telling  him  to  go  back 
and  deliver  his  people  out  of  bondage.  He  was  to  bring 
them  into  that  free  country  to  which  he  himself  had  come, 
and  where  he  stood,  into  the  land  of  Midian,  into  the 
neighborhood  of  Horeb-Sinai.  Beside  that  mountain 
they  should  worship  God.  At  the  same  time,  there  was 
revealed  to  him  a  sacred  name.  Every  people  had  its 
own  names  for  the  gods.  The  Canaanites  called  God 
Baal ;  the  Philistines,  Dagon  (I  Samuel  5:2);  the  Moab- 
ites,  Chemosh;  the  Ammonites,  Molech  (I  Kings  11 :  7). 
Bel  and  Ishtar  and  Marduk  were  divine  titles  among  the 
Babylonians,  to  which  the  Assyrians  added  Asshur ; 
Amon,  Isis  and  Osiris  were  worshipped  in  Egypt.  Moses, 
and  the  Hebrews  after  him,  called  God  Jehovah.  Out  of 
the  burning   bush  Jehovah  spoke.      As  Moses  listened, 


MOSES   AND   THE   EXODUS  35 

Aaron  his  brother  came  from  Egypt,  and  was  made  his 
spokesman. 

3.  Moses  and  Pharaoh.  Exodus  5-1 1. — Thus  called 
to  be  the  deliverer  of  his  oppressed  people,  Moses  returned 
to  Egypt  and  demanded  for  them  the  privilege  of  keeping  a 
religious  festival  in  the  wilderness .  To  this  Pharaoh  replied 
only  by  increasing  their  burdens.  The  men  were  needed 
in  the  erection  of  the  public  buildings.  Pharaoh  could 
not  spare  them.  He  reminded  them  that  they  were  slaves 
under  his  absolute  authority  by  compelling  them  not  only 
to  make  as  many  bricks  as  before  but  to  provide  for  them- 
selves the  straw  which  had  previously  been  provided  for 
them.     When  they  failed  to  do  this  they  were  beaten. 

Then  followed  a  series  of  national  calamities.  The 
annual  discoloration  of  the  Nile  was  so  great  that  year 
that  the  river  was  red  as  blood.  Out  of  the  defiled  water 
came  multitudes  of  frogs.  The  frogs  dying  and  decaying 
brought  swarms  of  flies.  The  flies  carried  plague  germs 
to  the  cattle.  And  there  were  great  storms,  with  thunder 
and  lightning  and  heavy  hail  and  thick  darkness.  An 
east  wind  blew  the  locusts  into  the  land.  At  first,  Pharaoh 
saw  in  these  plagues  only  the  common  afflictions  of  the 
country,  somewhat  w^orse  than  usual.  When,  however, 
they  continued,  and  came  at  last  to  a  crisis  in  a  pestilence 
which  entered  into  every  household,  he  was  convinced 
for  the  moment  that  these  were  works  of  God  on  behalf 
of  the  Hebrews.     At  last,  he  consented  to  let  the  people  go. 

The  fact  that  the  Nile  begins  to  rise  in  June,  and  that 
hail  would  fall  in  Egypt  in  January,  being  the  rainy  season, 
suggests  that  the  contention  between  Moses  and  Pharaoh 
was  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  a  year.  It  was 
probably  in  the  spring  when  the  first  request  was  made  to 


36  OLD    TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

keep  the  festival  in  the  wilderness,  according  to  the  com- 
mon manner  of  primitive  people  worshipping  the  gods 
who  restore  life  to  the  earth  after  the  desolation  of  winter. 
It  was  in  the  spring  again  that  the  request  was  granted. 

4.  The  Passover.  Exodus  12,  13. — Taking  advan- 
tage of  the  terror  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Hebrews  gathered 
together  such  of  their  goods  as  they  could  carry,  and  de- 
manded of  the  Egyptians  gold  and  silver,  after  their  years 
of  unpaid  service.  The  sacrifice  of  a  lamb  in  every  He- 
brew household  had  provided  blood  which  they  took  to 
mark  the  posts  of  their  doors,  that  the  destroying  angel 
might  pass  over  them.  The  deliverance  gave  a  name  to 
that  day  forever.  The  bread  which  they  took  with  them 
was  made  in  such  haste,  in  the  urgency  of  their  departure, 
that  it  had  no  yeast,  or  leaven.  Afterwards,  they  kept  the 
Feast  of  the  Passover  as  an  annual  celebration  of  their 
escape,  as  it  is  kept  to  this  day.  A  lamb  is  served  with 
bitter  herbs  in  remembrance  of  the  bitterness  of  the 
Egyptian  bondage,  and  the  bread  is  unleavened.  And 
this  takes  place  at  the  time  of  the  full  moon  which  follows 
the  vernal  equinox,  the  twenty-first  of  March. 

5.  The  Red  Sea.  Exodus  14,  15.  — The  destination  of 
the  Hebrews  under  the  leadership  of  Moses  was  the  land 
of  Midian.  Thither  they  had  been  summoned  by  the 
voice  of  God.  There  they  had  friends  and  kinsfolk. 
There  they  might  hope  to  find  a  secure  refuge  from  the 
Egyptians.  There  was  indeed  a  roa  d  which  led  straight  out 
of  Egypt  into  Palestine,  but  Palestine  could  be  entered 
only  by  an  invading  army,  and  the  escaping  multitudes  of 
slaves,  unacquainted  with  war,  accustomed  to  the  trade 
of  the  mason  and  of  the  carpenter,  were  not  equipped  to 
undertake  it.     Their  only  way  led  across  the  isthmus  of 


MOSES  AND   THE   EXODUS  37 

Suez,  and  thence  by  caravan  routes  over  the  peninsula  to 
the  mountains  of  Horeb. 

Across  this  road  they  found  a  fortress  and  a  wall,  holding 
the  isthmus  against  all  comers  and  goers.  And  behind 
came  the  pursuing  Egyptians.  Pharaoh,  who  had  hardly 
believed  that  the  plagues  were  the  work  of  Jehovah  for 
His  people,  had  recovered  from  the  terror  into  which  the 
pestilence  had  cast  him.  He  came  out  with  chariots  and 
horsemen  to  overtake  these  workmen  of  his  and  drive 
them  back  to  their  tasks.  There  they  were,  then,  with  the 
road  blocked  before  them,  and  the  Egyptians  approaching 
from  behind. 

In  this  peril,  the  Lord  caused  a  strong  east  wind  to 
blow,  and  a  path  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the  shallow 
waters  of  the  sea.  Over  they  went  by  land,  and  the 
Egyptians  followed  them.  "  The  enemy  said,  '  I  will 
pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the  spoil.  My  desire 
shall  be  satisfied  upon  them.  I  will  draw  my  sword,  my 
hand  shall  destroy  them.'  "  Thus  it  is  written  in  the 
ancient  Song  of  Deliverance.  Then  the  wind  changed, 
and  the  waters  of  the  sea  came  back,  and  the  eager  pur- 
suers were  drowned.  ''  Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind, 
and  the  sea  covered  them.  They  sank  as  lead  in  the 
mighty  waters."  The  circumstances  of  this  deliverance 
made  a  profound  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  people. 
It  was  plain  to  them  that  they  had  escaped  not  by  their 
own  device  or  strength  but  by  the  hand  of  Jehovah. 
''  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously : 
the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea." 


VII 
MOSES  AND   THE  LAW 

I.  Mount  Sinai.  —  Standing  on  the  safe  side  of  the  Red 
Sea,  the  Israelites  had  a  choice  between  the  roads. 

They  might  have  gone  south  along  the  coast  to  the 
great  mountains  near  the  point  of  the  peninsula.  This 
route  has  the  support  of  all  tradition,  but  there  are  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  accepting  it.  One  difficulty  is  in  the 
fact  that  there  were  extensive  Egyptian  quarries  beside 
this  road,  where  slaves  worked  under  the  guard  of  soldiers : 
escaping  slaves  would  hardly  go  that  way.  Another 
difficulty  is  in  the  fact  that  the  road  after  passing  the 
quarries  leads  only  into  the  midst  of  bleak  mountains. 

They  might  have  gone  east  across  the  desert  to  the 
head  of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  and  so  to  Midian.  This 
road,  following  the  trail  of  the  caravans,  would  have 
brought  the  host  to  Elath,  which  sounds  a  little  like  Elim 
(Exodus  15 :  27),  and  would  have  conducted  them  thence 
to  the  country  whence  Moses  had  come,  and  to  which  he 
was  intending  to  return.  There  they  would  find  the 
mountain  of  God  (Exodus  3:1)  where  he  had  seen  the 
burning  bush.  There  among  the  Midianites,  by  the  land 
of  Edom,  amidst  the  heights  of  the  Mount  Seir  range 
(Deuteronomy  33 :  2),  we  are  probably  to  look  for  the 
eminence,  sometimes  called  Sinai,  and  sometimes  Horeb, 
into  whose  summit  Moses  ascended  to  converse  with  God. 

38 


MOSES   AND  THE  LAW  39 

2.  The  Law  by  Commandments.  Exodus  19 :  16- 
20 :  21 ;  34  :  1-27.  —  The  first  thing  to  do  with  the  multi- 
tude of  escaped  slaves  was  to  establish  discipline.  They 
had  obeyed  their  masters  in  Egj^t  under  the  rule  of  force ; 
they  were  now  to  be  taught  to  be  their  own  masters  obedi- 
ent to  God  under  the  rule  of  conscience.  To  this  end 
there  must  be  laws,  and  the  laws  must  be  recognized  as 
expressing  the  will  of  God. 

The  experiences  of  the  people  on  the  journey  out  of 
Egypt  into  the  land  of  Midian  had  already  assured  them 
of  the  care  of  God.  They  said  afterwards,  recalling  those 
days,  that  the  Lord  supplied  them  with  bread  from  heaven, 
raining  manna  upon  them  (Exodus  16) ;  and  that  Moses, 
smiting  with  his  rod,  brought  forth  water  for  them  from 
the  flinty  rock  (Exodus  17:1-7).  They  had  been  at- 
tacked by  Amalekites,  wild  men  of  the  desert,  and  Joshua 
had  commanded  their  victorious  defence,  but  the  true 
cause  of  the  victory  was  the  prevailing  prayer  of  Moses 
for  the  help  of  God  (Exodus  17  :  8-16).  The  exodus  had 
effected  their  social  and  political  independence,  but  the 
whole  movement  had  been  conducted  under  conditions 
which  made  it  a  religious  revolution.  It  had  been  made 
possible  and  successful  by  the  power  of  God.  Thus  the 
people  were  ready  to  receive  the  initial  laws  of  their  new 
state  not  at  the  hands  of  any  representative  assembly  of 
legislators,  and  not  by  the  imposition  of  a  king  and  his 
court,  but  by  the  word  of  God. 

These  laws  were  established  at  Mount  Sinai.  Moses 
went  up  into  the  cloudy  peaks  to  commune  with  God, 
amidst  thunderings  and  lightnings.  The  people  saw 
with  their  eyes  and  heard  with  their  ears  that  this  legisla- 
tion was  not  the  will  of  Moses  only  but  of  God.     Thus 


40  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Hammurabi  of  Babylon  had  been  represented  on  the 
monuments,  centuries  before,  as  receiving  laws  like  these 
from  the  hand  of  God. 

Moses  talked  so  long  with  God  upon  the  mountain  that 
the  people  despaired  of  his  return.  Under  the  leader- 
ship of  Aaron  they  made  a  golden  calf  and  worshipped  it, 
singing  and  dancing  about  it,  and  crying,  "  These  be  thy 
gods,  O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt."  The  story  may  have  been  colored  in  the  re- 
telling by  the  reprobation  of  the  golden  calves  which 
Jeroboam  set  up  to  the  scandal  of  the  southern  kingdom 
(I  Kings  12  :  28).  He  is  said  to  have  repeated  the  formula 
of  the  heresy  of  Aaron.  The  incident,  however,  is  true 
to  human  nature.  The  people  easily  reverted  to  the  cus- 
toms of  their  forefathers,  who  had  worshipped  idols  in 
Haran;  or  followed  the  customs  of  their  neighbors  and 
former  masters,  the  Egyptians.  Every  religion  in  the 
world  made  use  of  idols.  The  Hebrews  came  very 
slowly  into  their  realization  of  the  religion  of  the  Spirit. 
Thus  they  set  up  the  golden  calf  with  the  blessing  of  Aaron. 
Moses  coming  down,  bringing  the  law  written  on  the  stone 
tablets,  and  finding  the  people  thus  engaged,  broke  the 
tablets  in  his  indignation,  and  after  destroying  the  idol 
returned  into  the  mount  to  confer  again  with  God.  The 
history  says  that  the  laws  were  inscribed  a  second  time 
upon  the  pages  of  stone. 

A  comparison  of  the  thirty-fourth  with  the  twentieth 
chapter  of  Exodus  discloses  the  fact  that  they  were  differ- 
ent laws.  The  Ten  Commandments  in  the  twentieth 
chapter  (see  also  Deuteronomy  5 :  6-21)  are  concerned 
with  moral  duties.  The  Ten  Commandments  in  the  thirty- 
fourth  chapter  (see  also  Exodus  23:  15-19)  are  concerned 


MOSES   AND   THE  LAW  41 

with  religious  institutions:  i.  Thou  shalt  worship  no 
other  god  (verse  14).  2.  Thou  shalt  make  thee  no 
molten  gods  (17).  3.  The  feast  of  unleavened  bread 
shalt  thou  keep  (18).  4.  Every  first-born  is  mine  (19, 
20).  5.  Six  days  thou  shalt  work,  but  on  the  seventh 
thou  shalt  rest  (21).  6.  Thou  shalt  observe  the  feast 
of  weeks  (22).  7.  Thou  shalt  not  offer  the  blood  of  my 
sacrifice  with  leaven  (25).  8.  Neither  shall  the  sacrifice 
of  the  feast  of  the  passover  be  left  unto  the  morning  (25). 
9.  The  firstfruits  of  thy  land  shalt  thou  bring  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God  (26).  10.  Thou  shalt  not  seethe  a  kid  in 
his  mother's  milk  (26).  After  this  manner,  in  these 
ritual  regulations,  did  the  Lord  speak  to  Moses  (Exodus 
34:27,  28),  making  His  covenant  with  the  people  of 
Israel.  And  Moses  "  wrote  upon  the  tables  the  words  of 
the  covenant,  the  ten  commandments."  This  is  plainly  a 
kind  of  legislation  other  than  that  which  appears  in  the 
laws,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  not  commit 
adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  steal." 

The  relation  between  these  two  versions  of  the  ten 
commandments  is  one  of  the  interesting  problems  of  Old 
Testament  study. 

3.  The  Law  by  Cases.  Exodus  18:1-27.  —  One 
way  of  making  law  is  by  the  statement  of  fundamental 
principles,  constitutions,  commandments.  Another  way 
is  by  the  application  of  the  principles  to  particular  cases. 

Thus,  day  by  day,  Moses  sat  to  judge  the  people. 
They  brought  him  their  disputes  and  difficulties,  and  he 
decided  them.  And  these  decisions  became  precedents. 
Presently,  by  the  advice  of  his  father-in-law,  Moses  ap- 
pointed men  from  among  the  people,  *'  able  men,  such  as 
fear  God,  men  of  truth,  hating  unjust  gain,"  who  should 


42  OLD   TEST.\MENT   HISTORY 

decide  the  lesser  cases,  bringing  only  the  more  important 
ones  to  him.  These  cases  they  decided  according  to  the 
laws  which  Moses  had  received  from  God.  And  this  went 
on,  year  after  year.  In  the  wilderness,  and  on  the  march, 
and  presently  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  after  the  death  of 
Moses,  the  will  of  the  great  lawgiver  was  thus  carried 
out,  and  all  the  laws  were  called  the  laws  of  Moses. 

This  long  and  gradual  process  makes  it  almost  impossi- 
ble to  date  the  Old  Testament  laws.  In  this  respect  they 
are  like  the  Psalms  and  the  Proverbs.  They  are  as- 
sembled under  the  great  name  of  Moses,  as  the  Psalms 
are  ascribed  to  David,  and  the  Proverbs  to  Solomon. 
It  means  that  the  foundation  of  the  Hebrew  state  was  laid 
by  Moses.  He  made  the  constitution.  It  was  due  to 
him  that  the  Israelites  differed  from  their  neighbors  in 
that  they  were  governed  not  by  the  caprice  of  kings  nor  by 
the  ambition  of  priests  but  by  the  law,  to  whose  obedience 
both  priests  and  kings  were  bound.  It  was  by  him  that 
the  law  was  based  upon  the  righteousness  of  God. 

The  laws  which  grew  out  of  the  Mosaic  beginnings  are 
collected  in  the  books  of  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers 
and  Deuteronomy.  The  oldest  legislation  is  perhaps  that 
which  is  contained  in  the  Ten  Com^nandments  of  Exodus  34 ; 
on  the  ground  that  in  the  history  of  religion  ritual  laws 
commonly  precede  moral  laws.  Along  with  this  ap- 
pears the  primitive  code  called  the  Book  of  the  Covenant 
(Exodus  20:23-23:19),  to  which  are  prefixed  the  Ten 
Commandments  of  Exodus  20.  A  great  part  of  the 
book  of  Deuteronomy  (5-1 1;  12-26;  28)  seems  to  have 
appeared  in  its  present  form  in  the  seventh  century  B.C., 
in  the  time  of  King  Josiah  (II  Kings  22).  A  great  part  of 
the  book  of  Leviticus  (17-26)  seems  to  have  appeared  in  its 


MOSES   AND   THE   LAW  43 

present  form  in  the  fifth  century  B.C.  and  to  be  connected 
with  the  mission  of  Ezra  the  scribe  (Nehemiah  8 :  1-3). 

Even  the  latest  collections,  however,  contain  laws  which 
are  far  older  than  the  date  of  the  collection.  And  the 
earliest  groups  of  statutes  contain  regulations  concerning 
that  agricultural  life  into  which  the  Hebrews  did  not 
enter  till  long  after  the  sojourn  at  Sinai.  It  shows 
that  these  were  living  laws,  in  constant  use,  changing 
as  the  conditions  changed,  kept  close  to  the  actual 
needs  of  the  people.  The  law  was  like  a  tree  which  puts 
forth  new  branches  year  by  year,  all  of  them  growing  out 
of  the  parent  stem.  The  parent  stem  was  planted  by 
Moses. 

4.  The  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  Exodus  25-28 ;  33  :  7-1 1. 
—  The  tables  of  stone  were  placed  in  a  box  of  acacia  wood, 
called  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  and  the  ark  was  kept  in  a 
tent  of  goat's  hair.  Into  this  tent  Moses  entered  when  he 
would  commune  with  God.  There  the  Lord  spoke  with 
Moses,  "  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  unto  his  friend." 
Aaron  and  his  sons  were  made  priests  to  offer  sacrifices 
to  God  before  the  tent,  which  was  the  symbol  of  the 
divine  presence.  At  the  door  of  this  tabernacle,  the  people 
said  their  prayers.  There  Aaron  ministered,  dressed  in  a 
gown  of  blue,  having  on  the  hem  of  it  pomegranates  of 
blue,  and  of  purple,  and  of  scarlet,  and  between  the 
pomegranates  little  golden  bells  which  tinkled  as  he 
walked. 


VIII 
THE  MARCH  OF  THE  INVADING  ARMY 

I.  The  Invasion  that  Failed.  Numbers  13,  14.  — 
West  of  Sinai  and  south  of  the  land  of  Canaan  lay  the 
Wilderness  of  Paran,  having  in  the  midst  of  it  a  flowing 
spring  called  Kadesh  (Numbers  13 :  26).  To  this  place 
they  marched.  When  they  took  up  the  ark  to  begin  a  day's 
journey  Moses  cried,  "  Rise  up,  O  Lord,  and  let  thine 
enemies  be  scattered  "  (Psalm  68:  i).  When  they  rested 
he  cried,  "  Return,  O  Lord,  unto  the  many  thousands  of 
Israel"  (Numbers  10 :  35,  36).  North  of  the  Wilderness  of 
Paran  was  the  South  Country,  the  beginning  of  that  land 
of  hills  and  valleys  where  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob 
had  fed  their  flocks,  and  toward  which  the  hopes  of  these 
their  descendants  were  directed. 

From  Kadesh,  Moses  sent  spies  to  view  the  land.  "  See 
the  land  what  it  is ;  and  the  people  that  dwelleth  therein, 
whether  they  be  strong  or  weak,  few  or  many ;  and  what 
the  land  is  that  they  dwell  in,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad ; 
and  what  cities  they  be  that  they  dwell  in,  whether  in 
tents  or  in  strongholds ;  and  what  the  land  is,  whether  it 
be  fat  or  lean,  whether  there  be  wood  therein  or  not." 

So  the  men  went  up  as  far  as  Hebron,  where  their  fore- 
fathers lay  buried  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah ;  and  farther 
north  to  Eshcol,  whence  they  brought  a  branch  bearing  a 
great  cluster  of  grapes.    They  reported  that  the  land  was 

44 


THE   MARCH   OF  THE   INVADING  ARMY    45 

fertile,  ''  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  but  they  said 
that  it  was  already  populated,  having  Amalekites  in 
the  south,  and  Amorites  in  the  mountains,  and  Canaan- 
ites  by  the  sea  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Jordan.  These 
people  dwelt,  they  said,  in  walled  cities,  and  were  of  gi- 
gantic stature,  so  that  we  seemed  like  grasshoppers  be- 
side them. 

The  people,  hearing  this  report,  refused  to  go,  though 
Joshua  and  Caleb,  the  leaders  of  the  spies,  joined  Moses 
in  urging  them.  Some  of  the  people  were  disposed  to 
stone  Caleb  and  Joshua,  and  to  desert  the  leadership  of 
Moses.  "  Let  us  make  a  captain,"  they  said,  "  and 
return  into  Egypt."  Others,  however,  were  so  impressed 
by  the  good  report  that  they  determined  to  go  into  Canaan 
even  after  Moses  had  abandoned  the  expedition.  They 
advanced,  therefore,  some  way  into  the  country,  against 
the  will  of  Moses.  But  the  Amalekites  and  the  Canaanites 
came  out  and  chased  them  back. 

2.  The  Wandering  in  the  Wilderness.  Numbers  11; 
16 ;  20 :  1-13.  —  This  failure  made  it  plain  that  the 
people  were  not  prepared  for  war.  They  needed  the 
discipline  of  experience.  They  must  be  strengthened  and 
toughened  by  hard  living.  Thus  they  were  made  to 
wander  in  the  wilderness.  They  became  acquainted  with 
hunger  and  thirst,  against  which  they  cried  bitterly,  and 
reviled  Moses,  wishing  that  they  had  stayed  in  Egypt. 
Korah,  a  kinsman  of  Moses,  and  Dathan  and  Abiram, 
descendants  of  Reuben,  the  eldest  son  of  Jacob,  led  a  re- 
bellion of  tw^o  hundred  and  fifty  men,  which  was  sup- 
pressed only  by  an  earthquake  and  a  plague.  Even  after 
many  years,  the  people  were  still  sorry  that  they  had  come 
out  of  Egypt.  They  looked  back  with  regret  to  the  days  of 


46  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

their  slavery.  They  remembered  the  fish  which  they  used 
to  eat,  the  cucumbers,  the  melons,  the  leeks  and  the  garlic, 
and  were  weary  of  the  monotony  of  the  manna.  "  Where- 
fore," they  cried,  "  have  ye  made  us  to  come  up  out  of 
Egypt  to  bring  us  into  this  evil  place?  It  is  no  place  of 
seed,  or  of  figs,  or  of  vines,  or  of  pomegranates ;  neither  is 
there  any  water  to  drink."  They  hated  it.  Moses,  strong 
and  patient  as  he  was,  found  himself  tried  by  them  be- 
yond the  limit  of  endurance.  But  in  spite  of  their  con- 
tinual complaining,  the  muscles  of  the  men  grew  strong, 
and  there  was  a  new  courage  in  their  hearts. 

How  many  years  were  spent  in  this  preparation  we  are 
not  definitely  told.  The  number  forty,  which  occurs  so 
often  in  the  Bible,  is  what  we  call  a  "  round  number," 
meaning  a  good  while.  It  was  long  enough,  however,  for 
a  new  generation  to  grow  up,  born  in  the  wilderness, 
nomads  like  the  Bedouin,  strong  and  courageous. 

3.  By  the  Way  of  Edom  and  Moab.  Numbers  20 :  14- 
21:11;  22-24. — At  last,  it  was  decided  to  undertake 
again  the  adventure  of  invasion.  It  was  now  proposed, 
instead  of  attacking  the  land  of  Canaan  from  the  south, 
to  attack  it  from  the  east.  They  would  march  up  through 
Edom  and  Moab  and  enter  the  country  by  crossing  the 
Jordan.  Edom  was  the  first  region  on  this  line  of  march, 
being  south  of  the  Dead  Sea ;  to  the  north  of  Edom  was 
Moab. 

From  Kadesh,  therefore,  they  sent  messengers  to  the 
king  of  Edom,  saying, ''  We  are  your  kinsfolk,  and  are  come 
out  of  Egypt ;  let  us  pass  through  your  land.  We  will  not 
pass  through  the  fields,  or  through  the  vineyards,  neither 
will  we  drink  of  the  water  of  the  wells ;  we  will  go  by  the 
king's  highway."     But  the  king  of  Edom  refused,  and  came 


THE  MARCH  OF  THE  INVADING  ARMY     47 

out  with  an  army ;   so  that  they  had  to  take  a  long,  hard 
journey  around  the  borders  of  that  country. 

There  it  was  that  Moses  made  the  brazen  serpent 
which  Hezekiah,  long  after,  broke  in  pieces  as  an  idol 
(II  Kings  18:4).  Moses  put  the  serpent  on  a  pole,  that 
they  who  were  bitten  by  serpents  might  look  at  it  and  be 
healed  (John  3  :  14,  15). 

Then  they  journeyed,  and  came  to  Moab.  And  Balak, 
king  of  Moab,  sent  for  Balaam,  a  prophet  in  the  east,  to 
curse  these  invaders  of  his  land.  Balaam  came  reluctantly. 
He  told  the  king  of  Moab  that  even  the  ass  on  which  he 
rode  was  stopped  by  an  angel  in  the  way.  And  having 
come,  and  building  altars  on  the  heights  of  the  mountains 
overlooking  the  camp  of  Israel,  Balaam  could  not  pro- 
nounce the  words  of  cursing,  but  blessed  the  enemies  of 
Balak.  A  series  of  oracles  in  poetic  form  expresses  the 
expectation  of  a  victorious  future.  The  people  shall 
be  great  in  number.  "  Who  can  count  the  dust  of  Jacob, 
and  the  number  of  the  fourth  part  of  Israel?"  They 
shall  conquer  Moab  and  Edom.  "  The  shout  of  a  king 
is  among  them."  '^  The  people  shall  rise  up  as  a  great 
lion."  "  There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a 
Sceptre  shall  rise  out  of  Israel,  and  shall  smite  the  corners 
of  Moab,  and  destroy  all  the  children  of  Sheth.  And 
Edom  shall  be  a  possession,  Seir  also  shall  be  a  possession 
for  his  enemies,  and  Israel  shall  do  valiantly."  It  de- 
scribes the  triumph  of  the  Hebrews  under  the  leadership 
of  David  (II  Samuel  8  :  2,  14). 

4.  On  the  Eve  of  the  Invasion.  Numbers  21:12-35, 
Deuteronomy  2:1-3:17,  Numbers  31,  34.  —  Then  came 
fighting.  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites,  refused  to  let  the 
host  of  Israel  pass  through  his  land.     But  the  invaders 


48  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

had  now  more  confidence  in  their  own  might  than  when 
they  had  been  driven  away  by  the  king  of  Edom.  They 
attacked  Sihon  and  defeated  him  and  took  possession  of 
his  country.  They  did  the  same  with  Og,  the  king  of 
Bashan,  whose  vast  bedstead  of  iron  amazed  them  (Deuter- 
onomy 3  :  1 1).  Thus  they  did  hkewise  with  the  Midianites. 
By  these  conquests  the  Hebrews  made  themselves  masters 
of  the  east  of  the  Jordan.  At  last  they  had  a  land  of  their 
own.  And  some  of  them  —  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and 
Gad  and  half  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh  —  were  contented, 
and  began  to  settle  in  the  fertile  fields. 

But  across  the  Jordan  lay  the  Land  of  Promise.  Coming 
in  from  the  desert,  like  other  nomad  tribes  before  and  after 
them,  they  felt  the  call  of  the  land  beyond  the  river. 

Meanwhile,  Aaron  had  died,  and  Eleazar  his  son  had 
become  priest  in  his  stead  (Numbers  20:  22-29).  Moses 
perceived  that  the  end  of  his  own  life  was  near.  The  book 
of  Deuteronomy  contains  a  long  Farewell  Address  reviewing 
the  years  which  had  passed  since  the  crossing  of  the  Red 
Sea,  and  urging  the  people  to  keep  their  faith  and  obedience. 
The  heart  of  all  their  life,  he  said,  was  their  loyalty  to 
Jehovah  their  God.  After  the  Address  follows  the  Song 
of  Moses  (Deuteronomy  32 :  1-43) ;  and  the  Blessing  of 
Moses  follows  the  Song  (Deuteronomy  ^t,).  But  the 
Blessing  of  Moses,  like  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  (Genesis  49), 
is  a  description  of  the  tribes  as  settled  in  the  land.  The 
value  of  the  chapters  is  not  in  the  words  but  in  the  spirit 
of  Moses.  They  are  concerned  not  so  much  with  his  lips 
as  with  his  soul.  They  reveal  him  as  he  was  indeed,  the 
man  who  delivered  the  people  out  of  Egypt,  and  kept  the 
tribes  together,  and  taught  them  their  law  and  their 
religion,  and  led  them  through  the  long  discipline  of  the 


THE   MARCH   OF   THE  INVADING   ARMY     49 

desert,  and  brought  them  within  sight  of  the  Land  of 
Canaan. 

Moses  appointed  Joshua  as  his  successor,  laying  his 
hands  upon  him  and  bidding  him  be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage.  Then  he  chmbed  to  the  peak  of  Pisgah  in  the 
range  of  Nebo,  and  looked  across  the  Jordan.  The  whole 
fair  land  lay  at  his  feet:  Judah's  future  country  on  his 
left,  Ephraim's  on  his  right,  as  far  north  as  Dan  and 
Naphtali ;  with  the  "  utmost  sea  "  beyond ;  beneath  the 
mountain,  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  and  across  the  ford 
the  palms  of  Jericho.  The  tradition  that  Moses  had  of- 
fended God  (Numbers  20 :  10-13)  and  was  therefore  ex- 
cluded from  the  land  of  Canaan,  probably  arose  from  the 
common  feeling  that  whoever  missed  the  great  rewards  of 
life  had  somehow  sinned.  It  expresses  a  sense  of  incom- 
pleteness in  the  life  of  him  who  brought  the  tribes  to  the 
bank  of  the  Jordan,  and  saw  the  Land  of  Promise  with  his 
eyes,  but  went  not  over. 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  such  thought  was  in  the  mind 
of  Moses.  He  had  lived  his  life,  he  had  finished  his  course, 
he  had  kept  the  faith,  he  had  done  the  work  which  had 
been  given  him  to  do.  There  in  the  land  of  Moab  he  died. 
When  the  writer  of  Deuteronomy  says  that  God  buried 
him,  he  is  expressing  not  only  the  mystery  of  his  death, 
alone  on  the  mountain,  but  the  reverence  of  all  Israel  for 
him  who  had  been  to  them  prophet  and  priest  and  king. 


IX 

THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

I.  The  Crossing  of  the  Jordan.  Joshua  3-5.  —  Joshua, 
the  new  leader,  entered  at  once  upon  the  work  of  invasion. 
Orders  were  given  to  march ;  priests  went  before,  bearing 
the  ark  of  the  covenant ;  thus  they  advanced  to  the  brink 
of  the  Jordan.  The  importance  of  the  passage  of  the  river 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  narrative  glorifies  it  with 
miracle  such  as  attended  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea. 
The  Jordan  was  at  flood  that  day,  but  when  the  feet  of 
the  priests  touched  the  water  the  river  was  suddenly 
dammed,  high  up  by  the  city  of  Adam.  And  thus  a  road 
was  opened  for  the  invaders,  from  shore  to  shore.  Over 
they  went,  the  priests  with  the  ark  standing  in  the  midst 
of  the  channel  till  all  had  passed.  Twelve  stones  from  the 
middle  of  the  river  were  piled  on  the  west  bank  to  com- 
memorate the  event. 

There  at  Gilgal  the  sacrament  of  circumcision,  already 
associated  with  Abraham  (Genesis  17:9-14)  and  with 
Moses  (Exodus  4  :  24-26),  was  renewed,  as  a  sign  of  the  con- 
secration of  the  men  of  Israel  to  the  service  of  God.  There 
they  ate  the  corn  of  the  land,  having  come  into  the  settled 
country  where  there  were  farms.  There  Joshua  had  a 
vision  of  an  angel  with  a  drawn  sword,  ''  the  captain  of 
the  host  of  the  Lord,"  and  was  assured  that  God  was  on 
his  side. 

so 


THE   CONQUEST  OF   CANAAN  51 

2.  The  Destruction  of  Jericho.  Joshua  2,  6.  —  The 
first  thing  to  do  was  to  attack  the  town  of  Jericho.  It 
stood  in  the  Jordan  valley  among  palm  trees,  having  a 
stout  wall  about  it. 

Into  this  place  Joshua  had  already  sent  spies.  They  had 
made  friends  with  the  family  of  a  woman  named  Rahab, 
who  had  hidden  them  under  stalks  of  flax  on  the  roof  of 
her  house.  The  house  was  by  the  city  wall,  and  she  helped 
them  to  escape  when  they  were  discovered,  letting  them 
down  by  a  cord  through  a  window  over  the  wall.  The 
spies  promised  in  return  that  Rahab  and  her  family  should 
be  spared  in  the  destruction  of  the  city,  and  she  marked 
her  house  by  binding  a  line  of  scarlet  thread  in  the  window 
by  which  she  had  let  them  down.  The  spies  brought  back 
word  to  Joshua  that  the  people  of  Jericho  were  afraid. 

Seven  days  the  besiegers  marched  around  the  little  town 
in  silence,  the  ark  borne  before  them,  and  when  on  the 
seventh  day  the  priests  blew  their  ram's  horn  trumpets 
and  all  the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  the  walls 
fell  down  flat.  Thus  is  described  the  completeness  of  the 
victory.  In  they  rushed,  every  man  straight  before  him, 
and  took  the  town. 

Being  nomad  people,  fresh  from  the  desert  and  un- 
acquainted with  cities,  they  destroyed  the  place.  They 
kifled  the  people,  and  broke  or  burned  all  of  their  possessions. 
It  was  like  the  invasion  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  the 
barbarians.  The  Israelites,  men  of  the  open  air,  wan- 
derers in  the  wilderness,  were  superior  both  in  strength 
and  in  character  to  the  more  civilized  people  of  the  land 
of  Canaan.  The  cruelty  of  the  victors  is  accounted  for 
in  part  by  the  instincts  of  the  desert,  and  in  part  by  their 
belief  that  these  killings  and  burnings  were  an  offering 


52  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

acceptable  to  God.  Thus  far  had  they  come,  and  no 
farther,  in  that  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  God  of  which 
the  whole  history  is  a  record.  Jericho  lies  to-day,  much 
as  they  left  it,  a  heap  of  ruins.  The  Jericho  of  the  New 
Testament  was  built  beside  it. 

3.  The  Siege  of  Ai.  Joshua  7,  8. — Leaving  Jericho, 
and  advancing  into  the  midst  of  the  country,  they  came 
to  Ai,  near  the  ancient  shrine  of  Bethel  (Genesis  12:8). 
This  place  they  at  first  besieged  in  vain,  being  driven  back 
with  loss  of  life.  In  the  defeat  they  saw  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure, and  were  able  to  account  for  it  when  they  found 
that  one  of  their  company,  a  man  named  Achan,  had  dis- 
obeyed the  order  to  destroy  the  wealth  of  Jericho  for  the 
glory  of  God.  Out  of  the  spoil  he  had  saved  for  himself 
a  wedge  of  gold,  and  two  hundred  pieces  of  silver,  and  a 
goodly  Babylonish  garment.  Achan  being  taken  out  and 
stoned  to  death  as  a  punishment  and  a  warning,  they  again 
attacked  Ai,  setting  an  ambush  behind  the  city,  and  pre- 
tending to  run  away  in  fright  in  front.  The  men  of  Ai 
pursued  them,  the  men  of  the  ambush  came  out  and  en- 
tered the  town  and  set  it  on  fire.  Again  the  people  were 
put  to  death  and  the  place  was  destroyed. 

4.  The  Battle  of  Beth-horon.  Joshua  9,  10.  —  West 
of  Ai  was  Gibeon,  whose  citizens  made  peace  with  the  in- 
vaders by  a  stratagem.  Messengers  came  to  Joshua, 
with  bread  mouldy  in  their  baskets,  and  shoes  worn  as 
by  a  long  journey,  and  said  that  they  came  from  a  far 
country.  They  asked  for  a  treaty  of  alliance.  When  this 
was  made,  it  was  discovered  that  the  men  came  from 
Gibeon,  the  next  town.  Nevertheless,  the  Israelites  kept 
their  promise.  Long  after,  in  the  time  of  David,  when 
there  was  a  three-years  famine,  it  was  believed  to  be  a 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN  53 

sign  of  the  displeasure  of  the  Lord  because  Saul  slew  the 
Gibeonites  (II  Samuel  21 :  1-6). 

The  march  of  the  invaders  over  the  ruins  of  Jericho  and 
Ai,  and  the  alliance  made  with  Gibeon,  aroused  the  people 
of  the  land.  They  were  still  living,  as  in  the  time  of  the 
el-Amarna  letters,  city  by  city,  each  by  its  own  spring 
or  on  its  own  fortified  hill,  independent  of  its  neighbors, 
under  its  own  king.  The  overlordship  of  Egypt  had 
now  ceased.  Rameses  III  had  successfully  met  a  great 
invasion  of  Syria  and  Palestine  from  Asia  Minor;  the 
Philistines,  with  their  families  and  household  goods  follow- 
ing them  in  ox-carts,  and  their  ships  accompanying  them 
along  the  shore,  had  been  turned  back  from  attacking 
Egypt  itself.  But  after  Rameses  III  came  nine  other 
Pharaohs  of  that  name,  during  a  period  of  eighty  years, 
each  one  more  incompetent  than  his  predecessor.  It  was 
probably  in  the  midst  of  this  time  of  Egyptian  weakness 
that  the  Hebrews  came.  The  Palestinian  kings  could  ex- 
pect no  help  from  Pharaoh.  Under  the  king  of  Jerusalem 
they  combined  to  meet  the  Israelites  in  a  general  battle. 

The  place  was  the  Pass  of  Beth-horon.  So  long  was  the 
conflict  and  so  decisive  the  victory  that  in  the  war-songs 
of  the  book  of  Joshua  it  was  said  that  the  sun  and  moon 
stood  still  to  watch  it. 

Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon, 

And  thou,  Moon,  in  the  vaUey  of  Ajalon. 

And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon  stayed, 

Until  the  people  had  avenged  themselves  upon  their  enemies. 

According  to  one  account  (Joshua  10:17-27)  the  king 
of  Jerusalem  and  his  royal  allies  were  shut  up  in  a  cave, 
whence  they  were  brought  after  the  battle,  that  the  cap- 
tains of  Israel  might  set  their  feet  upon  their  neck,  and 


54  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

then  were  hanged.  According  to  what  looks  Hke  another 
account  (Judges  i :  5-8),  Adonibezek,  king  of  Jerusalem, 
being  captured,  they  cut  off  his  thumbs  and  great  toes. 
This  he  acknowledged  as  an  act  of  justice.  ''  Threescore 
and  ten  kings,"  he  said,  ^'  having  their  thumbs  and  great 
toes  cut  off,  gathered  their  meat  under  my  table :  as  I  have 
done,  so  hath  God  requited  me."  Then  they  brought 
him  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  died,  and  they  smote  the  city 
with  the  sword  and  burned  it. 

5.  The  Progress  of  the  Conquest.  Joshua  11,  Judges 
I,  2.  —  The  boast  of  Adonibezek  may  indicate  a  state  of 
civil  strife  which  had  weakened  the  cities  of  Canaan,  and 
made  the  progress  of  invasion  possible.  The  fact,  however, 
that  Jerusalem  continued  in  the  possession  of  its  ow^n 
people  (Judges  1:21)  and  was  not  taken  by  the  Israelites 
till  the  time  of  David  (II  Samuel  5 :  6-9)  shows  that  the 
conquest  which  began  so  brilliantly  proceeded  very  slowly 
and  imperfectly.  In  the  book  of  Joshua  the  victorious 
army  defeats  the  southern  kings  of  Canaan  at  the  battle 
of  Beth-horon,  and  the  northern  kings  at  the  battle  of 
Merom  (Joshua  11),  and  thus  subdues  the  whole  land, 
which  they  then  divide  among  the  tribes. 

But  the  first  two  chapters  of  the  book  of  Judges  record 
not  only  the  successes  but  the  failures  of  the  long  cam- 
paign. "  The  Lord  was  with  Judah,  and  he  drove  out  the 
inhabitants  of  the  mountains ;  but  he  could  not  drive  out 
the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  because  they  had  chariots  of 
iron."  The  tribe  of  Judah  captured  Hebron,  and  the  tribe 
of  Joseph  captured  Bethel :  thus  two  of  the  ancient  shrines 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders.  But  Manasseh  could 
not  take  Taanach  or  Megiddo ;  "  the  Canaanite  would 
dwell  in  that  land."     Neither  did  Ephraim  take  the  strong- 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN  55 

hold  of  Gezer.  Neither  did  Zebulum,  nor  Asher,  nor 
Naphtali  succeed  in  their  endeavors.  The  Amorites 
forced  the  tribe  of  Dan  into  the  mountain ;  they  would  not 
suffer  them  to  come  down  to  the  valley. 

The  Israelites  settled  in  the  land  as  they  were  able. 
Some  places  they  destroyed,  from  some  they  were  driven 
away,  in  others  they  settled  beside  the  people  of  the  land. 
They  entered  into  the  experience  of  other  like  invaders 
who  come  among  nations  more  civilized  than  themselves. 
They  learned  much  from  the  ancient  cities,  some  of  it  good, 
some  of  it  bad.  They  ceased  to  be  a  desert  people, 
wandering  from  place  to  place,  and  began  to  till  the  ground 
and  to  live  in  towns.  They  were  attracted  not  only  by  the 
civilized  manners  and  customs  but  by  the  religion  of  their 
neighbors.  They  turned  out  of  the  way  which  their  fathers 
had  walked  in,  and  bowed  down  to  the  gods  of  the  land. 

Joshua  died,  and  all  that  generation  passed  away,  "  and 
there  arose  another  generation  which  knew  not  the  Lord, 
nor  yet  the  works  which  he  had  done  for  Israel."  "  The 
Israelites  dwelt  among  the  Canaanites,  and  they  took  their 
daughters  as  wives,  and  gave  their  own  daughters  to  their 
sons,  and  served  their  gods." 


X 

THE  HEROIC  AGE 

I.  The  Land  and  the  Tribes.  Ge7iesis  49,  Deuteron- 
omy 33.  — Two  poems,  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  (Genesis  49) 
and  the  Blessing  of  Moses  (Deuteronomy  2>^),  describe  the 
settled  tribes.  In  the  Blessing  of  Jacob,  the  longest  pas- 
sages concern  the  fortunes  of  Joseph  and  of  Judah. 
These  two  occupied  the  central  and  southern  portions  of 
the  land,  having  the  little  tribe  of  Benjamin  between  them. 

The  tribe  of  Joseph,  descended  from  his  two  sons, 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  settled  south  of  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon,  in  the  district  which  included  the  holy  places 
of  Shechem  and  Bethel.  The  tribe  of  Judah  settled  west 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  in  the  district  which  included  the  holy 
place  of  Hebron.  South  of  them  was  the  tribe  of  Simeon, 
of  which  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  says,  "  I  will  divide  them  in 
Jacob  and  scatter  them  in  Israel  " ;  and  of  which  the 
Blessing  of  Moses  makes  no  mention.  This  tribe  was  ab- 
sorbed in  Judah,  including  the  shrine  of  Beersheba,  the 
southernmost  place  in  the  Promised  Land.  Dan,  by  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan,  was  the  northernmost. 

An  interesting  account  is  given  (Judges  17,  18)  of  the 
manner  in  which  a  part  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  took  possession 
of  their  lands  in  the  north.  Six  hundred  men  with  weapons 
of  war  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  Phoenician  town  of 
Laish  and  captured  it.  On  their  way  through  the  terri- 
tory of  Ephraim,  they  had  stolen  from  a  man  named  Micah 

S6 


THE   HEROIC   AGE  57 

his  family  priest  Jonathan,  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  Jonathan's 
father  was  Gershom.  His  grandfather,  according  to  the 
King  James  Version,  was  Manasseh,  but  according  to  the 
Revised  Version,  Moses  (Judges  18:30).  This  grandson 
of  Moses  (Exodus  2:22)  was  serving  Micah's  shrine,  which 
was  adorned  with  molten  images.  The  tribe  of  Dan  took 
the  images  with  the  priest  and  established  the  worship  of 
God,  in  this  form,  in  their  new  home. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Dan,  north  of  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon,  were  Asher  and  Zebulun,  and  Naphtali  and 
Issachar  by  the  Lake  of  Galilee. 

Reuben,  Gad  and  part  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh  remained 
on  the  east  of  the  Jordan. 

The  tribe  of  Levi,  which  is  described  in  the  Blessing  of 
Jacob  as  scattered  with  Simeon,  is  exalted  with  praise  in 
the  Blessing  of  Moses.  But  they  had  no  land.  It  was  ap- 
pointed to  them  to  live  in  the  cities  of  their  brethren 
(Joshua  21). 

2.  Deborah  and  the  Canaanites.  Judges  4,  5. — The 
divided  tribes  were  surrounded  on  every  side  by  enemies. 
In  the  south  were  roving  Amalekites  and  Ishmaelites. 
On  the  west  in  the  fertile  plains  by  the  sea,  were  the 
Philistines  over  against  Judah  and  Benjamin ;  and  north 
of  them  the  Phoenicians,  up  to  Tyre  and  Sidon.  On  the 
east,  in  the  desert,  were  Ammonites  and  Midianites ;  and 
south  of  them  the  old  enemies  of  Israel,  Moab  and  Edom. 
A  great  part  of  all  the  central  portion  of  the  country, 
especially  including  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  continued 
in  the  strong  hands  of  the  Canaanites. 

Among  the  first  to  attack  their  new  neighbors  were  the 
men  of  Moab,  who  came  across  the  fords  at  Jericho  and 
levied  tribute  upon  Benjamin.     But  Ehud,  a  left-handed 


S8  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Benjamite,  who  brought  the  tribute,  assassinated  Eglon, 
king  of  Moab,  and  delivered  his  people  (Judges  3  :  12-30). 
Ephraim  arose  to  the  aid  of  Benjamin,  at  the  sound  of 
Ehud's  trumpet,  and  they  held  the  fords. 

The  strength  of  the  Canaanites  had  successfully  resisted 
the  shock  of  the  Israelite  invasion.  Holding  Esdraelon, 
they  separated  the  northern  from  the  central  tribes,  and 
seemed  likely  to  reduce  the  Hebrews  in  that  part  of  the 
country  to  the  slavery  which  their  forefathers  had  endured 
in  Egypt.  The  men  of  Israel  did  not  dare  to  appear  upon 
the  highways;  among  their  forty  thousand  warriors  was 
neither  sword  nor  shield.  If  the  victory  of  the  waters  of 
Merom  (Joshua  11 :  1-14)  had  been  fought  already,  all  its 
advantages  had  been  lost,  but  the  description  may  be  only 
another  version  of  the  triumphant  uprising  under  Deborah 
and  Barak. 

These  two,  Deborah  the  prophetess  and  Barak  the  cap- 
tain, rallied  the  scattered  forces  of  the  tribes.  She  was 
of  Ephraim,  he  was  of  Naphtali.  They  were  joined  by 
men  from  Benjamin  and  Issachar  and  Zebulun.  Two 
accounts  are  given  of  the  battle,  one  in  prose  and  one  in 
poetry.  The  Song  of  Deborah  is  commonly  believed  by 
scholars  to  be  contemporary  with  the  event.  The  battle- 
field was  the  wide  plain.  Barak  rushing  down  from  Mount 
Tabor  encountered  Sisera  and  his  nine  hundred  chariots 
of  iron.  A  storm  of  wind  and  rain  flooded  the  plain  and 
made  the  chariots  useless.  The  stars  in  their  courses 
fought  against  Sisera.  Barak  was  overwhelmingly  vic- 
torious. Sisera  seeking  refuge  in  a  tent  of  the  clan  of  the 
Kenites  was  slain  by  Jael.  This  decisive  battle  made  the 
Israelites  masters  of  the  land.  It  was  the  crisis  of  the  con- 
quest. 


THE   HEROIC   AGE  59 

3.  Gideon  and  the  Midianites.  Judges  6-9.  —  The 
Israelites  were  rulers  of  the  central  parts  of  Palestine, 
and  held  the  fertile  plain  of  Esdraelon,  but  they  could  not 
reap  their  harvests.  Out  of  the  eastern  deserts  came  the 
Midianites  and  spoiled  the  farms.  They  were  driven 
away  at  last  by  Gideon. 

Gideon  was  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh.  His  brothers 
had  been  killed  by  these  robbers  and  he  arose  to  avenge 
their  blood.  His  first  act  was  to  reassert  the  religion  of 
Israel,  by  breaking  down  an  altar  of  Baal.  Men  gathered 
about  him,  a  great  company,  out  of  whom  he  chose  three 
hundred.  The  sign  of  a  fleece  of  wool,  one  night  wet  with 
dew,  another  night  dry,  assured  him  of  the  help  of  God. 
He  equipped  his  men  with  trumpets  and  torches  and 
pitchers,  and  they  came  upon  the  Midianites  by  night,  as 
they  slept  after  their  successful  plundering.  The  sudden 
crash  of  broken  pitchers,  the  flare  of  flaming  torches,  the 
shout  of  men  with  trumpets,  frightened  the  Midianites, 
and  they  fled  in  a  panic.  With  the  slaughter  of  their 
chiefs  Gideon  avenged  his  brothers,  and  with  the  spoils 
of  the  battle  he  made  a  molten  image,  which  he  set  up  in 
his  native  town  of  Ophrah,  near  Shechem. 

There  Gideon  established  a  little  kingdom,  being  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Abimelech  (Judges  9).  The  son,  how- 
ever, was  unworthy  of  his  father.  His  bad  end  was  pre- 
dicted at  the  beginning  of  his  career  by  his  brother  Jotham 
in  the  fable  of  the  Trees  and  the  Bramble.  He  succeeded 
in  putting  down  an  insurrection  of  the  men  of  Shechem, 
but  at  a  siege  of  the  town  of  Thebez  a  woman  cast  a  piece 
of  a  millstone  upon  him  from  the  tower,  and  killed  him. 

4.  Jephthah  and  the  Ammonites.  Judges  10-12. — 
Meanwhile  the  tribes  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan  were  suffer- 


6o  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

ing  from  the  incursions  of  the  Ammonites.  In  desperation, 
they  appointed  a  dictator,  Jephthah,  the  chief  of  a  band  of 
outlaws.  He  Hved  in  Gilead.  Jephthah  brought  with 
him  his  band  of  fighting  men,  and  demanded  of  the  Am- 
monites that  they  should  cease  their  attacks.  The  Am- 
monites replied  that  the  land  in  which  the  Israelites  had 
settled  was  their  land,  and  that  they  intended  to  take  it 
back  again.  Jephthah  answered,  "  You  have  the  land 
which  Chemosh  your  God  has  given  you,  and  we  have  the 
land  which  Jehovah  our  God  has  given  us ;  and  we  propose 
to  keep  it."  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  war.  Jephthah, 
as  he  went  to  battle,  made  a  vow  that  if  God  would  give 
him  victory,  he  would  sacrifice  the  first  living  thing  which 
should  meet  him  on  his  return.  He  won  the  victory,  but 
the  first  living  thing  which  met  him  was  his  daughter. 

Dissension  had  early  appeared  between  the  tribes  on  the 
east  and  the  tribes  on  the  west  of  the  Jordan.  The  western 
tribes  had  protested  against  an  altar  which  the  eastern 
tribes  had  built  (Joshua  22  :  9-31),  fearing  that  it  was  the 
symbol  of  a  separation  in  religion.  That  difference  had 
been  fraternally  settled,  but  the  conquests  of  Jephthah 
aroused  again  the  old  suspicious  jealousy.  The  tribe 
of  Ephraim  complained  because  Jephthah  had  not  called 
them  with  him  into  battle.  They  feared  the  erection  of  a 
rival  kingdom.  By  way  of  answer,  Jephthah's  Gileadites 
seized  all  the  Ephraimites  whom  they  could  find,  and  slew 
them  at  the  fords  of  the  river.  When  they  were  in  doubt 
they  made  the  men  pronounce  the  word  "  Shibboleth." 
If  they  said  "  Sibboleth,"  they  knew  that  they  belonged  to 
Ephraim. 

5.  Samson  and  the  Philistines.  Judges  13-16. — Of  all 
the  foes  of  Israel  in  the  days  of  their  settlement  in  Canaan, 


THE   HEROIC   AGE  6i 

the  Philistines  were  the  most  persistent.  They  had  in- 
vaded the  land  from  the  west,  coming  out  of  Asia  Minor, 
about  the  time  when  the  Hebrews  were  invading  from  the 
east.  A  contention  between  the  two  peoples  was  inevi- 
table. In  the  early  stages  of  this  strife  Samson  played  his 
mischievous  pranks.  His  adventures  seem  to  have  been 
undertaken  more  for  his  own  amusement  than  for  the  good 
of  his  country,  and  he  was  probably  as  lacking  in  religion 
as  he  was  in  morals,  but  the  stories  of  his  exploits  afforded 
unending  merriment.  The  riddle  of  the  Lion  and  the  Bees, 
the  tying  of  the  firebrands  in  the  foxes'  tails,  the  slaughter 
with  the  jawbone  of  an  ass,  the  carrying-off  of  the  gates 
of  Gaza,  the  betrayal  of  the  giant  by  his  mistress  Delilah, 
and  the  pulling  down  of  the  Philistine  temple  on  the 
heads  of  his  enemies,  were  told  by  fathers  to  their  children, 
and  recited  in  the  midst  of  loud  laughter  beside  the  camp- 
fires  of  Israel. 


XI 

THE   SERVICE  OF  SAMUEL 

I.  The  Capture  of  th<e  Ark.  /  Samuel  4-7. — The 
territory  of  the  Philistines  extended  along  the  Mediter- 
ranean coast  from  Phoenicia  in  the  north  to  Egypt  in  the 
south,  between  the  central  uplands  and  the  sea.  They 
had  five  fortified  cities :  Ekron  and  Gath  in  the  northeast 
by  the  hills ;  Askelon,  Gaza  and  Ashdod  in  the  southwest 
by  the  coast.  From  them  the  whole  land  came  to  be  called 
Palestine,  the  country  of  the  Philistines. 

In  the  conflict  between  the  Philistines  of  the  plains  and 
the  Israelites  of  the  hills  the  plains  people  had  the  advan- 
tage of  being  united ;  the  hills  people  had  the  disadvantage 
of  being  divided.  The  valleys  separated  hill  from  hill, 
and  town  from  town.  Each  individual  tribe  followed  its 
own  leader  and  attended  to  its  own  interests.  The  cam- 
paigns of  the  age  of  the  judges  were  local  wars.  There  was 
as  yet  no  nation. 

In  a  battle  which  was  fought  near  Shechem  the  Israel- 
ites were  beaten  with  much  loss  of  life.  They  endeavored 
to  save  their  fortunes  by  reinforcing  themselves  with  super- 
natural strength.  Not  content  to  pray  for  help,  they  sent 
for  the  sacred  ark  that  thereby  they  might  bring  the 
might  of  God  into  the  midst  of  the  battle.  The  ark  of  the 
covenant  was  kept  at  Shiloh,  where  Eli  was  its  guardian. 
He  was  an  old  man,  and  could  not  go  with  the  ark  into  the 

62 


THE   SERVICE   OF   SAMUEL  63 

battle.  His  two  sons  who  carried  it  were  unworthy  per- 
sons whose  conduct  had  long  been  a  scandal.  In  spite  of 
the  presence  of  the  ark,  the  Philistines  were  again  victorious. 
Israel  was  defeated,  the  two  sons  of  EU  were  slain,  and 
the  ark  itself  was  taken.  When  the  bad  news  came  to 
Eli  he  fell  backward  off  the  bench  on  which  he  sat,  and 
died. 

But  the  ark,  as  it  was  borne  in  triumph  from  one  Philis- 
tine city  to  another,  was  accompanied  by  pestilence.  At 
Ashdod  the  terror  of  the  people  was  increased  by  the  falling 
of  the  image  of  the  god  Dagon,  in  whose  temple  the  ark 
was  placed.  From  Ashdod  the  ark  was  carried  to  Gath, 
from  Gath  to  Ekron,  In  every  place  there  was  a  deadly 
destruction  throughout  the  city. 

At  last  the  dangerous  trophy  was  sent  back.  The  five 
golden  boils  and  the  five  golden  mice,  which  were  placed 
upon  it  as  an  offering  from  the  Philistines,  suggest  that  the 
disease  was  the  bubonic  plague.  Even  in  Israel,  at  Beth- 
shemesh,  death  seemed  to  come  with  the  ark.  From  Beth- 
shemesh  it  was  sent  to  Earjath-jearim.  There  it  found  an 
abiding  place  in  the  house  of  Abinadab  in  the  hill,  where 
Eleazar  his  son  became  its  guardian. 

2.  The  Leadership  of  Samuel.  /  Samuel  1-3.  —  The  ark 
was  returned,  but  the  Philistines  were  supreme.  They 
held  the  Israelites  in  subjection.  It  is  significant  of  the 
situation  that  they  shut  up  every  blacksmith's  shop  in 
the  land  of  Israel  (I  Samuel  13  :  19,  20).  The  Hebrews,  as 
in  the  days  of  Deborah,  had  neither  sword  nor  spear. 
Even  their  ploughshares  and  their  axes  they  must  carry 
down  to  the  Philistines  to  be  sharpened.  Not  only  the 
political  but  the  religious  existence  of  Israel  was  in  peril, 
for  Jehovah  seemed  to  have  abandoned  His  people.    The 


64  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

ark  was  hidden  in  the  woods  of  Kirjath-jearim,  and  the 
gods  of  the  Philistines  seemed  to  have  subdued  the  Lord 
who  brought  the  tribes  from  Egypt. 

In  this  crisis,  the  Israehtes  were  saved  by  the  leader- 
ship of  Samuel.  Samuel  had  been  brought  up  from 
childhood  under  the  instruction  of  Eli,  beside  the  ark  at 
Shiloh.  Hannah  his  mother  had  dedicated  him  from  his 
birth  to  the  service  of  the  Lord.  As  he  grew  up,  it  became 
plain  to  wise  people  that  the  Lord  spoke  to  Samuel  as 
He  had  spoken  of  old  to  Abraham,  to  Jacob,  to  Moses 
and  to  Joshua. 

Two  accounts,  following  two  ancient  traditions,  are 
given  of  the  service  which  was  rendered  by  Samuel  in  the 
guidance  of  the  people.  They  agree  that  the  need  of  the 
time  in  the  face  of  Philistine  oppression  was  such  a  union 
of  the  tribes  as  was  possible  only  under  the  strong  rule 
of  a  king.  In  one  account  (I  Samuel  9 :  15-17)  this  need 
was  first  seen  by  Samuel.  In  a  later  account  (I  Samuel 
8;  10:17-19;  12),  written  after  the  kings  had  disappointed 
the  nation,  and  had  proved  to  be  oppressors  themselves, 
the  demand  arose  among  the  people,  and  was  granted  by 
Samuel  reluctantly. 

By  whomsoever  suggested,  whether  by  the  people  or 
by  the  prophet,  the  necessity  was  imperative.  The  di- 
vided tribes  must  be  brought  together.  The  independ- 
ence which  was  congenial  with  the  free  life  of  the  wilder- 
ness, and  was  fostered  by  the  scattering  of  the  people 
among  the  hills,  must  give  way  to  a  central  organization. 
In  this  movement,  Samuel,  whether  summoned  by  the 
voice  of  God  or  by  the  voice  of  the  people,  was  the  di- 
vinely chosen  leader.  His  mission  was  to  find  and  ap- 
point a  king. 


THE   SERVICE   OF   SAMUEL  65 

3.   Samuel  and  Saul.     /  Samuel  g,  10.  —  One  day  a 

man  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  seeking  for  a  drove  of  asses 
which  had  strayed  from  his  father's  farm,  came  to  Ramah, 
where  Samuel  lived.  He  sought  out  Samuel,  his  only 
thought  being  that  the  prophet  could  tell  him  where  to 
look  for  his  lost  property.  But  Samuel,  at  the  same  time, 
was  looking  for  Saul.  When  he  came  in  sight  the  prophet 
perceived  in  this  tall,  sturdy  person,  standing  head  and 
shoulders  above  his  neighbors,  the  man  who  should  be 
king.  He  conferred  with  him,  and  solemnly  consecrated 
him,  declaring  to  him  by  the  symbol  of  the  anointing  oil 
that  he  was  called  of  God  to  undertake  the  salvation  of 
the  people. 

This  summons  Saul  received  with  mingled  emotions. 
At  first,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  vision  of  the  great  task, 
he  visited  the  "  sons  of  the  prophets,"  companies  of  men 
filled  with  a  fervor  which  was  both  patriotic  and  religious, 
who  prayed  night  and  day  in  an  excitement  of  spirit 
which  was  stimulated  by  the  sound  of  music.  Such  so- 
cieties appear  again  in  the  time  of  Elijah  (I  Kings  18 : 4; 
II  Kings  2:3,  5)  when  the  religion  of  Israel  was  in  peril 
before  the  religion  of  Baal.  They  represent  a  sense  of 
crisis,  an  appeal  to  Jehovah  to  save  His  people  out  of 
unusual  dangers  which  threaten  either  their  faith  or  their 
existence.     With  these  prophets,  Saul  allied  himself. 

But  later,  when  Samuel  came  to  Mizpah  and  called 
the  people  together  to  proclaim  the  king,  Saul  hid  him- 
self. And  when  he  was  brought  forth  and  publicly  de- 
clared to  be  leader  of  the  tribes,  and  the  people  shouted 
''  God  Save  the  King,"  even  then  he  assumed  no  royal 
state  nor  authority,  and  took  no  command  over  his  neigh- 
bors.   He  did  not  summon  an  army  against  the  Philis- 


66  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

tines.     He  returned  quietly  to  his  usual  occupation,  and 
went  on  with  the  ploughing  of  his  farm. 

Indeed,  it  was  plain  that  the  people  in  general  were 
not  ready  for  united  action.  The  northern  tribes  were  not 
affected  by  the  Philistine  oppression ;  and  even  in  Judah 
and  Benjamin,  while  there  went  with  Saul  a  band  of  men 
"  whose  hearts  God  had  touched,"  there  were  others  who 
said:  "How  shall  this  man  save  us?  Shall  Saul  reign 
over  us?  "  For  Saul  had  as  yet  done  no  deed  of  valor. 
He  was  commended  only  by  his  good  looks,  and  by  the 
approval  of  Samuel.  They  despised  him.  But  he  held 
his  peace. 


XII 

THE  REIGN  OF  SAUL 

I.  The  Relief  of  Jabesh.  /  Samuel  ii.  —  Saul  began  to 
be  the  king  of  Israel  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name  by  calling 
the  tribes  to  a  united  fraternal  action.  Across  the  Jor- 
dan in  Gilead,  the  town  of  Jabesh  was  attacked  by  the 
Ammonites.  These  enemies,  driven  away  by  Jephthah, 
had  returned  and  were  surrounding  Jabesh  with  a  siege  so 
bitter  and  complete  that  the  garrison  was  compelled  to 
ask  for  terms  of  peace.  The  reply  was  that  the  lives  of 
the  besieged  should  be  spared  on  one  condition  only: 
that  the  victors  might  thrust  out  the  right  eyes  of  all  the 
vanquished. 

Saul  was  coming  home  from  the  ploughing,  driving  his 
oxen  before  him,  when  he  was  met  by  messengers  from 
Jabesh,  crying  that  they  had  three  days'  respite  before 
this  fate  should  fall  upon  them.  He  took  immediate 
action.  Hewing  a  yoke  of  oxen  in  pieces,  he  sent  the 
bloody  fragments  throughout  the  land  of  Israel,  with  this 
word :  ''  Whosoever  cometh  not  forth  after  Saul  and  after 
Samuel,  so  shall  it  be  done  to  his  oxen."  It  is  significant 
that  no  appeal  Vv^as  made  to  patriotism  or  to  the  spirit  of 
brotherhood.  The  divided  clans,  each  considering  its  own 
interest,  could  be  touched  only  by  the  frank  threat  of 
personal  injury.  The  names  of  the  tribes  who  responded 
to  the  summons  are  not  given,  but  an  army  was  assembled, 

67 


68  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

a  rapid  march  was  made,  the  Ammonites,  surprised  in  the 
midst  of  the  morning  watch,  were  attacked  and  scattered 
and  the  siege  was  raised. 

At  Gilgal  by  the  fords  of  the  Jordan,  where  Joshua 
had  set  up  the  twelve  stones  from  the  river  in  memory  of 
the  entrance  of  the  people  into  the  Promised  Land  (Joshua 
4:  19-24),  they  made  Saul  king  indeed.  With  the  sacri- 
fice of  peace-offerings,  and  with  great  rejoicing,  they 
entered  into  a  new  era  of  their  history,  the  era  of  the  kings. 
2.  The  Battle  of  the  Pass  of  Michmash.  /  Samuel 
13  :  1-14 :  46.  —  In  the  strength  of  this  victory,  the 
king  undertook  the  work  to  which  he  had  been  called. 
He  attacked  the  Philistines. 

The  first  blow  was  struck  by  Saul's  son  Jonathan. 
There  was  a  garrison  of  the  Philistines  in  Gibeah,  where 
Saul  lived.  Jonathan  attacked  them.  The  history 
does  not  say  whether  the  attack  was  successful  or  unsuc- 
cessful, but  it  records  the  fact  that  the  Philistines  took  it  as 
the  beginning  of  a  revolution.  "  The  Hebrews,"  they  said, 
"  have  revolted."  The  report  was  confirmed  by  the  blare 
of  trumpets,  calling  the  Israelites  together.  The  Philis- 
tines gathered  a  great  army  to  put  down  the  rebellion  of 
the  Hebrews,  —  chariots  and  horsemen,  and  people,  like 
the  sand  on  the  seashore.  As  for  the  Israelites,  they  hid 
themselves  in  caves,  and  in  thickets,  and  in  rocks,  and  in 
high  places,  and  in  pits.  Some  of  them  fled  over  the 
Jordan  to  the  land  of  Gilead.  Saul  had  only  six  hundred 
men,  and  they  followed  him  trembling. 

A  passage  in  the  narrative  (13 :  8-14)  seems  to  imply 
that  in  this  crisis  the  young  king  was  forsaken  even  by  the 
prophet  who  appointed  him.  Samuel  had  agreed  to  come 
to  Saul  in  seven  days.     The  days  passed,  and  he  did  not 


THE   REIGN  OF  SAUL  69 

come,  and  meanwhile  the  Philistines  were  advancing,  while 
Saul's  soldiers  were  deserting.  There  was  no  time  to 
wait  for  the  courtesies  of  precedence.  Saul  offered  the 
customary  sacrifices,  preparing  to  go  into  battle.  Then 
Samuel  came  and  reproved  him,  and  told  him  that  on 
account  of  his  disobedience  his  kingdom  should  not  con- 
tinue. Already,  he  said,  the  Lord  has  found  a  man  after 
His  own  heart  to  be  the  captain  over  His  people.  But 
this  incident  belongs  to  a  later  chapter.  The  scene  is 
Gilgal,  not  Gibeah  where  Saul  was  preparing  for  the 
battle,  and  the  time  is  after  the  choice  of  David  to  be  king 
instead  of  Saul.  The  narrative  reads  straight  on,  passing 
from  the  seventh  to  the  sixteenth  verse  of  the  thirteenth 
chapter.  The  intervening  passage  may  be  a  version  of 
that  rejection  of  Saul  which  took  place  after  his  war  with 
Amalek  (I  Samuel  15). 

The  Philistines  assembled  over  against  Gibeah,  at 
Michmash.  Saul's  six  hundred  trembling  soldiers,  across 
the  deep  ravine,  were  armed  only  with  the  mattocks, 
the  forks  and  the  axes  with  which  they  tilled  the  ground 
and  felled  the  trees.  Saul  and  Jonathan  alone  had  swords 
and  shields.  But  the  Philistines  were  overconfident. 
They  were  so  sure  of  easy  victory  that  three  portions  of 
their  army  went  off  in  different  directions  on  plundering 
expeditions. 

At  this  moment,  Jonathan  with  his  armor-bearer  at- 
tacked the  remaining  garrison.  The  two  men  climbed 
the  steep  side  of  the  pass,  and  fell  upon  the  enemy  with 
such  boldness  and  fury  that  they  seemed  the  vanguard  of 
an  army.  The  enemy  were  thrown  into  a  panic,  and 
began  to  flee.  The  Israelites  arose  from  their  hiding- 
places  and  pursued  them.     Saul  with  his  little  army  came 


70  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

hastening  after.     Jonathan's  splendid  adventure  ended 
in  a  total  rout  of  the  oppressors. 

An  unhappy  incident  dimmed  the  glory  of  the  great 
day.  Saul  had  made  the  soldiers  take  a  vow  to  taste  no 
food  till  the  enemy  should  be  destroyed :  whoever  touched 
food  was  to  be  put  to  death.  Jonathan,  not  knowing 
that  such  a  vow  was  made,  ate  some  wild  honey.  Then 
the  sun  went  down,  and  the  hungry  people  flew  upon  the 
spoil.  But  when  Saul  proposed  to  continue  the  pursuit 
of  the  Philistines  by  night,  and  asked  counsel  of  God 
whether  to  go  or  stay,  the  oracle  returned  no  answer.  It 
was  plain  that  some  offence  had  been  committed. 
Lots  were  drawn  to  discover  the  offender,  and  the  lot  fell 
on  Jonathan.  And  Jonathan  confessed  that  he  had  trans- 
gressed in  ignorance  of  the  king's  command.  "  I  did 
but  taste  a  little  honey,"  he  said,  "  and  lo,  I  must  die.'* 
And  Saul  answered,  "  God  do  so  and  more  also,  for  thou 
shalt  surely  die,  Jonathan."  The  whole  incident  —  the 
vow,  the  silent  oracle,  the  readiness  to  offer  human  sac- 
rifice —  shows  that  the  conditions  are  those  of  primitive 
civilization.  But  the  people  prevented  the  sacrifice  of 
Jonathan.  "  Shall  Jonathan  die,  who  hath  wrought 
this  great  salvation  in  Israel  ?  God  forbid.  As  the  Lord 
liveth,  there  shall  not  one  hair  of  his  head  fall  to  the 
ground  :  for  he  hath  wrought  with  God  this  day."  Thus 
they  read  the  will  of  God  not  in  the  oracle  but  in  the 
battle,  in  the  actual  facts  of  life. 

3.  The  Wars  of  Saul.  /  Samuel  14:47,  48;  15. — ■ 
Saul  fought  battles,  which  are  mentioned  but  not  de- 
scribed, against  Moab  and  Ammon  and  Edom,  the  hostile 
neighbors  across  the  Jordan,  and  against  the  Philistines. 
*'  Whithersoever  he  turned  himself,  he  vexed  them."    The 


THE   REIGN   OF   SAUL  71 

little  kingdom  knew  no  peace.  On  every  side  were  ene- 
mies. 

In  the  south  were  the  Amalekites.  "  Go  and  smite 
Amalek,"  said  Samuel,  "  and  utterly  destroy  all  that 
they  have,  and  spare  them  not;  but  slay  both  man  and 
woman,  infant  and  suckling,  ox  and  sheep,  camel  and  ass." 
This  he  believed  to  be  the  will  of  God.  The  words  are 
like  a  date  showing  how  far  the  people  of  Israel  had  come 
in  civilization  and  religion.  It  is  one  of  the  milestones 
which  mark  that  moral  progress  of  which  the  Bible  is 
a  record.  Saul  disobeyed  the  command  of  Samuel.  He 
destroyed  only  the  property  which  had  no  value.  He 
took  the  sheep  and  oxen,  and  made  Agag,  king  of  the 
Amalekites,  a  prisoner.  Samuel  came  out  to  meet  him. 
''  What  meaneth,"  he  said,  "  this  bleating  of  the  sheep 
in  mine  ears,  and  the  lowing  of  the  oxen  which  I  hear  ?  " 
Saul  said  that  he  had  brought  them  home  for  sacrifice. 
Samuel  cried,  "  Hath  the  Lord  as  great  delight  in  burnt 
offerings  and  sacrifices,  as  in  obeying  the  voice  of  the 
Lord?  "  He  himself  took  Agag,  and  with  his  own  hands 
hewed  him  in  pieces.  Then  he  turned  away  in  deep  anger, 
declaring  that  the  Lord  had  rejected  Saul  from  being  king. 

4.  The  Battle  of  Mount  Gilboa.  /  Samuel  28,  31, 
I  Chronicles  10.  —  The  campaign  against  Amalek  was  but 
an  incident  in  the  wars  of  Saul ;  the  continued  contest  was 
with  the  Philistines.  "  There  was  sore  war  against  the 
Philistines  all  the  days  of  Saul."  Sometimes  there  was 
victory,  especially  after  Saul,  in  his  search  for  strong  and 
valiant  men,  had  found  young  David.  Then  the  women 
came  out  of  all  the  cities  of  Israel,  singing  and  dancing, 
to  meet  King  Saul,  with  tabrets,  with  Joy  and  with  in- 
struments of  music.    But  there  were  defeats  also,  and  the 


72  OLD    TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Philistines  grew  stronger  and  stronger.  At  last,  they 
made  ready  a  great  army  to  bring  the  Israelites  back  into 
their  old  bondage.  And  Saul  perceived  that  he  was  out- 
numbered by  his  enemies.  The  Philistines  marched  along 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  thus  parting  the  tribes  of  the  north 
from  the  tribes  of  the  south,  and  making  it  impossible 
for  Saul  to  assemble  the  united  strength  of  the  people. 
He  took  up  his  position  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
plain,  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Gilboa. 

On  the  night  before  the  battle,  as  he  waited  with  his 
trembling  army  for  what  seemed  sure  defeat,  Saul  dis- 
guised himself  and  sought  out  a  woman  of  Endor,  who 
still  continued  in  the  old  pagan  religion  of  the  place,  and 
was  called  a  witch.  He  desired  her  to  summon  the  spirit 
of  Samuel  from  the  regions  of  the  dead.  This  she  agreed 
to  do.  "  I  see  him !  "  she  cried  in  the  darkness,  ''  I  see 
a  god  coming  up  out  of  the  earth."  Saul  said,  ''  What  is 
his  appearance?"  The  woman  answered,  "It  is  the 
form  of  an  old  man,  covered  with  a  mantle."  And  Saul 
said  to  Samuel,  "  God  is  departed  from  me.  He  answers 
me  no  more,  neither  by  prophets  nor  by  dreams.  What 
shall  I  do?  "  And  Samuel  answered  (or  was  said  by  the 
woman  to  answer),  "  The  Lord  will  deliver  Israel  into 
the  hand  of  the  Philistines.  To-morrow  thou  and  thy 
sons  shall  be  with  me." 

Then  the  morrow  came,  and  the  battle  was  joined. 
The  Philistines  fought  and  the  men  of  Israel  fled,  and 
Saul  was  wounded  by  the  archers.  According  to  one 
report  (I  Samuel  31 :  1-6)  he  begged  his  armor-bearer  to 
put  him  to  death,  and,  when  he  refused,  fell  upon  his  own 
sword,  and  so  escaped  the  tortures  of  the  enemy.  Ac- 
cording to  another  report  (II  Samuel  i :  i-io)  Saul  called 


THE   REIGN  OF  SAUL  73 

to  a  passing  Amalekite  to  slay  him ;  and  this  the  Amalekite 
did,  taking  away  with  him  the  crown  that  was  upon  Saul's 
head  and  the  bracelet  that  was  upon  his  arm. 

In  one  way  or  another  the  first  king  of  Israel  came  to 
the  end  of  his  life.  The  Philistines  finding  him  dead,  and 
his  three  sons  dead  beside  him,  cut  off  his  head,  sent 
pieces  of  his  armor  to  their  five  towns  as  trophies,  and 
fastened  his  body  and  the  bodies  of  his  sons  to  the  wall  of 
Bethshan.  But  the  men  of  Jabesh  heard  what  had  be- 
fallen the  man  who  had  saved  their  right  eyes,  and  cer- 
tain among  them  arose  and  went  all  night  and  took  the 
bodies  from  the  wall  and  gave  them  decent  burial  at 
Jabesh. 


XIII 
THE  RISE  OF  DAVID 

I.  David  the  Giant-Killer.  /  Samuel  17-21.  —  When 
Samuel  withdrew  his  approval  from  Saul,  he  sought  for  a 
man  after  the  Lord's  own  heart  whom  he  might  make  king 
in  Saul's  place,  and  found  him  in  the  person  of  David. 

David  lived  at  Bethlehem,  where  his  ancestors  had 
owned  land  for  several  generations.  He  was  descended 
from  Boaz,  a  rich  farmer  of  that  neighborhood,  and  Ruth 
his  wife  who  had  come  from  Moab  to  Bethlehem  with 
Naomi  her  mother-in-law.  The  romantic  story  of  their 
marriage  is  told  in  the  book  which  bears  her  name  (Ruth 

1-4).  _ 

David's  father  was  Jesse.  There  were  older  brothers, 
and  three  nephews,  Joab  and  Asahel  and  Abishai,  sons  of 
an  older  sister.  David  grew  up  in  this  family  of  sturdy 
youths.  His  work  was  to  tend  the  sheep,  defending  them 
from  lions  and  bears.  There  he  was  found  by  Samuel, 
who  came  to  Bethlehem,  looked  carefully  at  seven  sons 
of  Jesse  and  passed  them  by,  and  sent  for  the  youngest 
son  who  sat  among  the  sheep.  So  David  came,  a  lad  of 
a  beautiful  countenance,  ruddy  and  goodly  to  look  to, 
and  on  him  the  prophet  poured  the  consecrated  oil. 

The  historian  has  preserved  two  different  accounts  of 
the  first  appearance  of  David  at  the  court  of  Saul.  In 
one  account  (I  Samuel  16  :  14-23)  he  appears  as  a  minstrel, 

74 


THE   RISE   OF  DAVID  75 

playing  on  a  harp  for  the  relief  of  the  king  in  a  sickness  of 
his  mind.  Saul  had  begun  to  be  afflicted  with  epilepsy, 
or  insanity,  and  the  music  soothed  him.  David  would 
take  the  harp  and  play  with  his  hand,  and  the  evil  spirit 
would  pass  away  from  Saul.  In  another  account  (I  Samuel 
17  :  55-58)  David  appears  as  a  champion,  coming  from  the 
farm  with  provision  for  his  brothers  in  the  army,  and  of- 
fering to  fight  the  Philistine  giant,  Goliath.  After  the 
duel,  Saul  says  to  Abner,  "Whose  son  is  this  youth?" 
and  Abner  answers,  "  As  thy  soul  liveth,  0  King,  I  cannot 
tell."  The  explanation  of  this  ignorance  is  that  two  in- 
dependent and  quite  different  traditions  are  recorded  side 
by  side. 

Coming  thus  from  the  sheepfold  to  the  court,  and  slay- 
ing the  giant  of  whom  all  the  men  of  Israel  were  afraid, 
David  became  a  popular  hero.  The  king  gave  him  a 
command  in  the  Philistine  war,  and  there  he  so  distin- 
guished himself  that  presently  the  women  were  singing 
in  their  songs  of  victory,  "  Saul  hath  slain  his  thou- 
sands and  David  his  ten  thousands."  Under  any  cir- 
cumstances, a  king  would  have  resented  such  an  exalting 
of  a  captain  over  himself,  but  Saul  in  the  disorder  of  his 
mind  resented  it  exceedingly.  He  hated  David.  Saul 
had  promised  that  whoever  should  kill  the  giant  might 
marry  his  daughter,  and  this  was  very  pleasing  to  the 
princess  Michal,  for  the  young  hero  had  won  her  heart. 
But  now  Saul  required  that  David  should  first  go  on  a 
dangerous  expedition  against  the  Philistines,  hoping  that 
he  might  lose  his  life.  Back  he  came,  however,  in  safety 
and  triumph,  and  they  were  married. 

One  time  when  the  evil  spirit  was  upon  Saul,  and  David 
played  upon  the  harp  to  soothe  him,  he  threw  his  spear 


76  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

at  him,  trying  to  kill  him.  Another  time,  he  sent  mes- 
sengers to  David's  house  to  kill  him,  but  Michal  let  him 
down  through  a  window,  and  he  escaped. 

In  the  midst  of  the  jealousy  and  hatred  of  the  king, 
David  had  a  steadfast  friend  in  the  king's  son,  Jonathan. 
Jonathan  tried  to  make  peace  between  his  father  and  his 
friend,  but  to  no  purpose.  For  a  moment  Saul  relented, 
but  his  sickness  came  upon  him  again,  or  new  praises  of 
David  again  aroused  him,  and  when  Jonathan  took  David's 
part,  Saul  threw  his  spear  even  at  him.  The  two  friends 
met  in  secret  in  a  field,  and  exchanged  vows  of  everlasting 
loyalty,  and  David  betook  himself  to  flight  to  save  his 
life.  Even  the  priests  who  fed  the  fugitive  and  gave  him 
the  sword  of  Goliath,  Saul  put  to  death. 

2.  David  the  Outlaw.  /  Samuel  22-27;  29,  30.  —  So 
David  became  an  outlaw.  At  first  he  sought  refuge 
among  the  Philistines,  with  Achish,  king  of  Gath.  But  it 
was  remembered  against  him  how  the  women  said 
"  David  hath  slain  his  ten  thousands,"  and  David  had 
to  pretend  to  be  a  madman  in  order  to  escape.  He  scrab- 
bled upon  the  doors  of  the  gate,  and  let  his  spittle  fall 
down  upon  his  beard.  Thus  they  did  him  no  harm,  for 
madmen  were  considered  to  be  under  the  special  protec- 
tion of  the  gods.  Thence  he  went  to  the  cave  of  Adullam, 
where  other  men  joined  him,  and  he  became  a  captain 
over  them.  They  spent  their  days  in  fighting,  sometimes 
with  the  Philistines,  sometimes  with  the  Amalekites. 
They  lived  on  the  spoil  which  they  took,  and  also  on  the 
tribute  which  they  collected  from  farmers  and  sheep- 
masters  for  protecting  them  from  worse  brigands  than 
themselves. 

One  sheep-master,  named  Nabal,  being  drunk  when 


THE   RISE   OF   DAVID  77 

David's  collectors  came,  and  not  knowing  what  he  did, 
refused  to  pay.  "  Who  is  David?  "  he  said,  "and  who  is 
the  son  of  Jesse?  there  be  many  servants  nowadays  that 
break  away  every  man  from  his  master."  Abigail  his 
wife  immediately  sent  what  David  had  demanded,  — 
loaves  of  bread,  and  bottles  of  wine,  and  sheep  ready 
dressed,  and  parched  corn,  and  figs  and  raisins,  —  and 
went  herself  to  turn  away  the  wrath  of  David.  When 
Nabal  came  to  his  right  mind  and  understood  what  he 
had  done,  he  was  so  frightened  that  he  fell  sick  and  died : 
such  was  the  fear  of  David  and  his  mighty  men  in  all  the 
countryside. 

Saul  pursued  David  even  into  the  wilderness.  The  his- 
tory contains  what  seem  to  be  two  different  accounts  of 
how  the  outlaw  had  the  king  in  his  power  and  spared 
him.  According  to  one  account,  Saul  came  into  the  very 
cave  where  David  chanced  to  be  hidden.  The  outlaw  was 
so  close  to  the  king  that  he  took  his  sharp  sword  and  cut 
off  the  skirt  of  Saul's  robe.  Saul  went  out  of  the  cave 
not  knowing  what  peril  he  was  in,  and  David  called  him, 
and  showed  him  the  piece  of  the  robe  in  his  hand.  "  See," 
he  said,  "  the  skirt  of  thy  robe  in  my  hand,  and  I  killed 
thee  not;  yet  thou  huntest  my  soul  to  take  it."  And  Saul 
was  touched,  and  gathered  his  men  about  him  and  went 
home. 

According  to  the  other  account,  the  king  and  his  men 
slept  in  their  camp.  Beside  the  king  slept  his  captain 
Abner,  and  at  the  king's  head  was  a  cruse  of  water,  and 
his  spear  stuck  in  the  ground.  David  and  his  nephew 
Abishai  went  softly  among  the  sleepers  and  brought 
away  the  cruse  of  water  and  the  spear,  and  Abishai 
would  have  killed  Saul  where  he  slept,  but  David  forbade 


78  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

him.  Then  from  the  side  of  the  hill  David  called  and 
awoke  Abner  and  the  king.  "  Abner,"  he  cried,  ''  where 
is  the  king's  spear,  and  the  cruse  of  water  that  was  at  his 
bolster?  "  And  Saul,  perceiving  that  David  had  spared 
his  life,  repented  of  his  hatred,  and  gathered  his  men  about 
him,  and  went  home. 

At  last,  weary  of  this  outlaw  life  and  wishing  to  get 
beyond  the  reach  of  Saul,  David  obtained  from  Achish, 
king  of  Gath,  the  town  of  Ziklag.  There  he  made  his 
headquarters,  going  out  on  plundering  forages  against  the 
Amalekites,  while  Achish  believed  that  he  was  attacking 
the  villages  of  his  own  people  in  Judah.  Indeed,  Achish 
would  have  taken  David  and  his  men  with  the  Philistine 
army,  which  was  being  mustered  for  the  battle  of  Mount 
Gilboa,  had  not  other  Philistine  chiefs  objected.  Thus 
the  army  marched  to  the  great  battle,  and  David,  much 
to  his  relief,  was  left  behind. 

3.  David  and  the  House  of  Saul.  II  Samuel  1-4;  9; 
16  :  1-4 ;  19  :  24-30 ;  21 :  1-14.  —  When  King  Saul  fell 
down  slain  on  Mount  Gilboa,  a  contention  arose  as  to  the 
succession  to  the  throne.  The  men  of  Judah  acclaimed 
David,  and  he  was  formally  anointed  king  in  Hebron. 
But  the  men  of  Ephraim,  with  Benjamin  and  the  tribes  of 
the  north  and  east,  accepted  Saul's  son  Ishbaal  as  the 
rightful  possessor  of  his  father's  plac  .  His  true  name 
was  Ishbaal  (I  Chronicles  S:  t,^),  but  in  later  days,  when 
good  men  hated  even  the  name  of  Baal,  the  historians 
wrote  it  Ishbosheth,  —  bosheth  meaning  ^'  shame  "  : 
and  so  it  stands. 

Thus  the  men  of  David,  having  Joab,  David's  nephew, 
for  their  captain,  and  the  men  of  Ishbosheth,  having  his 
cousin  Abner  for  their  captain,  fell  to  fighting.     From  the 


THE   RISE   OF  DAVID  79 

first,  the  fortunes  of  war  were  on  the  side  of  David. 
There  was  a  battle  by  the  pool  of  Gibeon,  beginning 
with  a  tournament  in  which  twelve  champions  from  the 
army  of  Abner  fought  with  twelve  champions  from  the 
army  of  Joab.  The  tournament  was  indecisive,  and  the 
fighting  became  general.  Abner  fled  and  Joab  pursued 
him;  and  in  the  flight,  Abner,  much  against  his  will, 
killed  Joab's  brother  Asahel.  Thus  there  came  into  the 
war  the  motive  of  blood  revenge. 

At  last,  Abner,  having  quarrelled  with  Ishbosheth, 
offered  his  sword  and  his  soldiers  to  David;  but  Joab 
caught  him  and  killed  him  for  the  death  of  Asahel. 
Thereupon,  Ishbosheth  having  now  neither  captain  nor 
army,  assassins  broke  in  upon  him  and  put  him  to  death, 
and  brought  his  head  to  David.  Thus  ended  the  en- 
deavor of  the  house  of  Saul  to  hold  the  throne  of  Israel. 

David  had  no  share  in  these  tragedies.  He  disavowed 
and  publicly  lamented  the  killing  of  Abner ;  and  when  the 
assassins  of  Ishbosbeth  brought  him  the  king's  head  and 
expected  a  reward,  he  rewarded  them  with  the  edge  of  a 
sharp  sword.  But  by  these  deeds  of  violence,  David 
gained  the  crown.  The  elders  of  all  the  tribes  met  him  at 
Hebron.  "  Thou  wast  our  captain,"  they  said,  ''  even 
when  Saul  was  king  over  us."  And  David  made  a  league 
with  them,  and  they  anointed  him  to  be  their  king. 


XIV 

THE  REIGN  OF   DAVID 

c.  1017-977 

I.  The  City  of  David.  1 1  Samuel  ^-y,  I  Chronicles  11-1^; 
15,  16.  —  One  of  the  first  acts  of  David  on  becoming  king 
was  to  establish  a  capital  city.  Saul,  like  the  judges  before 
him,  had  lived  in  his  native  town,  and  his  kingship  had 
been  closely  connected  with  his  own  tribe.  It  is  an  in- 
dication of  the  genius  of  David  that  he  chose  to  set  his 
throne  in  a  new  place,  which  had  never  belonged  to  any 
tribe  of  Israel. 

The  ancient  fortress  of  Jerusalem  was  still  in  possession 
of  the  Jebusites.  So  great  was  the  natural  strength  of  the 
citadel,  so  steep  the  walls  of  rock,  so  easy  the  defence, 
that  the  garrison  defied  David  with  derision.  They  said 
that  even  the  blind  and  lame  among  them  could  hold  the 
rock  against  an  army.  Joab  turned  this  boast  into  de- 
feat. He  climbed  up  by  the  watercourse,  and  took  the 
fortress  by  surprise. 

Thus  the  new  king  had  a  strong  city,  won  by  the  valor 
of  his  own  soldiers,  standing  between  the  tribe  of  Judah 
and  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  The  capture  of  this  place, 
and  the  building  of  a  city  on  this  hill,  is  one  of  the  deter- 
mining facts  of  history,  like  the  founding  of  Alexandria 
by  Alexander,  and  of  Constantinople  by  Constantine. 

80 


THE   REIGN   OF    DAVID  8i 

Into  his  new  city  David  brought  the  ark  of  God.  It 
was  the  one  common  possession  of  all  the  tribes,  the 
symbol  of  their  common  history.  They  all  knew  how 
Moses  had  made  the  ark  at  Sinai,  how  the  people  had 
borne  it  through  the  wilderness,  how  they  had  followed  it 
in  their  battles  with  Moabites  and  Amorites,  in  their 
passage  of  the  Jordan,  in  their  siege  and  capture  of  Jericho. 
They  had  lost  it,  indeed,  to  the  Philistines,  but  the  Phil- 
istines had  been  compelled  to  send  it  back.  Guarded 
now  in  the  house  on  the  hill  among  the  woods  of  Kirjath- 
jearim,  it  represented  the  ancient  unity  of  Israel. 

The  ark  represented  also  the  religion  of  the  nation. 
And  religion,  as  they  understood  it  was  the  condition  of 
their  national  existence.  They  were  surrounded  by  hos- 
tile kingdoms  each  of  which  had  its  tribal  god,  who  gave 
prosperity  and  victory.  The  God  of  Israel  was  Jehovah ; 
and  of  the  presence  of  Jehovah  among  them  the  ark  was 
an  assurance.  In  no  way  could  David  have  done  more 
to  make  Jerusalem  the  centre  of  the  united  tribes  than 
to  bring  into  it  the  ark  of  the  Lord.  This,  accordingly, 
he  did,  in  the  midst  of  a  procession  of  singers  and  players 
upon  instruments  of  music  and  with  the  offering  of  sac- 
rifices. The  sudden  death  of  a  man  who  put  out  his  hand 
to  keep  the  ark  from  falling  was  understood  by  the 
people  to  certify  the  mysterious  sacredness  of  the  ancient 
chest. 

Thus  Jerusalem  became  the  central  sanctuary  of  the 
nation,  the  City  of  God.  There  David  built  a  palace,  made 
of  cedar,  and  would  have  built  a  temple  for  the  ark,  but 
that  honor  was  kept  for  Solomon  his  son. 

2.  The  Wars  of  David.  //  Samuel  8,  lo,  12:26-31, 
/  Chronicles  14:8-17;    18-20. — In  addition  to  the  ad- 

G 


82  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

vantage  of  the  possession  of  a  new  capital,  thus  the  central 
city  and  the  central  shrine  of  Israel,  David  had  the  strength 
of  a  small  but  loyal  army.  He  had  six  hundred  trained 
and  valiant  men  on  whom  he  could  depend.  Many  of 
them  had  been  his  companions  in  the  cave  of  Adullam,  and 
served  him  because  they  loved  him.  They  had  had  ex- 
perience of  adventures.  Remembrances  still  remain  in 
the  history  of  the  stories  which  were  told  about  them: 
how  they  fought  with  giants,  and  met  hosts  of  the  Phil- 
istines single-handed  and  were  not  afraid;  how  they 
swam  flooded  rivers,  and  encountered  lions  in  pits  on  snowy 
days;  how  three  of  them  broke  through  the  Philistine 
army  to  bring  David  a  cup  of  water  from  the  well  by  the 
gate  of  Bethlehem  (II  Samuel  21 :  15-22  ;    23  :  8-22). 

This  was  the  army  which  enabled  David  to  conquer 
the  forces  of  the  house  of  Saul,  and  take  the  throne.  It 
made  him  the  victor  in  a  series  of  foreign  wars. 

The  first  war  was  with  the  Philistines.  The  battle  of 
Mount  Gilboa  had  made  them  masters  of  the  land  of 
Israel.  To  the  strife  for  the  crown,  they  had  paid  no 
attention.  Whoever  won  it  must  be  their  servant.  They 
were  content  that  David  should  be  the  victor,  for  he  was 
already  vassal  to  Achish,  king  of  Gath.  It  soon  ap- 
peared, however,  that  David  was  bent  on  independence, 
and  the  Philistines  appeared  with  an  army  in  the  valley 
of  Rephaim.  The  historian  is  so  much  more  interested 
in  persons  than  in  events  that  little  is  said  about  the  im- 
portant fighting  which  ensued.  It  appears,  however, 
that  the  PhiHstines  saw  so  clearly  that  the  battle  would 
be  a  decisive  one  that  they  brought  their  gods  with  them. 
This  help  proved  unavailing,  and  they  fled,  leaving  the 
images   behind    them.    The   ground   was    strewn    with 


THE  REIGN  OF  DAVID  Ss 

Baals.  A  second  victory  confirmed  the  first,  and  the 
Philistines  ceased  thereafter  to  be  a  menace  to  Israel. 
David  did  not  venture,  however,  to  carry  his  arms  into 
the  Philistine  country.  It  was  practically  settled  that 
the  coast  belonged  to  the  Philistines,  and  the  hills  to  Is- 
rael. The  presence  of  Philistines  in  David's  body-guard 
(II  Samuel  15  :  18)  indicates  the  peace  which  prevailed. 

A  like  understanding  existed  with  the  Phoenicians. 
Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  became  an  ally  of  David,  and  sup- 
plied him  with  architects  and  carpenters  and  masons. 

Thus  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  bounded  on  the  west 
by  the  Phoenicians  and  Philistines.  The  conquests  of 
David  were  made  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan.  The  Am- 
monites, having  wantonly  insulted  David's  ambassadors, 
shaving  off  half  their  beards,  he  invaded  their  country. 
They  called  the  Syrians  to  their  assistance.  David's 
generals,  Joab  and  Abishai,  divided  the  army.  Joab 
and  his  soldiers  encountered  the  Syrians,  Abishai  and  his 
soldiers  encountered  the  Ammonites;  both  of  the  com- 
manders were  successful. 

When  the  Syrians  assembled  their  armies  and  their 
allies  to  avenge  this  defeat,  David  met  them  with  another 
victory,  and  brought  back  to  Jerusalem  the  shields  of  gold 
which  had  been  borne  by  the  servants  of  the  Syrian  king. 

David  smote  Moab,  putting  a  great  number  of  pris- 
oners to  death.  He  smote  Edom,  putting  garrisons  in 
all  the  cities  of  that  land. 

In  a  final  campaign  against  Ammon,  Joab  besieged 
Rabbah  the  capital,  and  seized  the  fortress  which  pro- 
tected the  supply  of  water.  David  completed  the  capture 
of  the  city.  He  took  from  the  head  of  an  idol  there  a 
crown  of  gold  weighing  a  hundred  and  forty  pounds. 


84  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

In  the  midst  was  a  precious  stone  which  he  set  in  his  own 
crown.  He  made  the  Ammonites  work  for  him  with 
saws  and  picks  and  axes,  and  at  the  brick  moulds. 

Thus  all  the  lands  east  of  the  Jordan  from  Mount  Her- 
mon  in  the  north  to  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Red  Sea 
in  the  south  were  subject  to  King  David  or  paid  him 
tribute. 

3.  The  Troubles  of  David.  II  Samuel  11,  12;  15-19; 
20.  —  In  the  midst  of  these  victories,  David  suffered  a 
lamentable  defeat.  Remiaining  in  Jerusalem,  while  Joab 
was  besieging  the  water-fortress  of  Rabbah,  he  saw  one 
day  a  beautiful  woman,  named  Bathsheba,  whom  he 
desired  to  add  to  the  number  of  his  wives.  But  Bath- 
sheba had  a  husband.  His  name  was  Uriah,  and  he  was 
a  soldier  in  David's  army.  Thereupon  David  sent  word 
to  Joab  to  put  Uriah  in  the  place  where  the  fighting  was 
fiercest,  where  he  would  be  likely  to  be  killed.  Uriah 
was  killed,  as  the  king  intended,  and  Bathsheba  was 
taken  into  the  palace. 

For  these  crimes  of  adultery  and  murder,  the  king  was 
/  boldly  reproved  by  the  prophet  Nathan.     The  parable 

of  the  Ewe  Lamb  touched  his  conscience.  He  had  be- 
haved himself  like  other  kings  of  that  old  time  when  the 
world  was  only  beginning  to  be  civilized :  as  Hanun,  king 
of  Ammon,  might  have  behaved,  or  Hadadezer,  king  of 
Syria.  It  was  a  brave  and  most  important  service  which 
Nathan  rendered  when  he  declared  that  Jehovah  hates 
such  wickedness  as  that.  Nathan  put  Hebrew  religion 
and  righteous  living  together.  The  one  thing  which  may 
be  said  for  David  is  that  he  perceived  that  Nathan  was 
right.  In  humility,  and  with  a  penitent  heart,  he  con- 
fessed that  he  had  sinned. 


THE   REIGN  OF   DAVID  85 

Then  troubles  came  by  reason  of  Absalom,  one  of 
David's  sons.  Absalom  killed  his  brother  Amnon  be- 
cause of  his  brutal  treatment  of  his  sister.  The  history- 
makes  it  plain  that  there  was  still  in  the  veins  of  the 
people,  even  in  the  royal  family,  the  fierce  passions  of  the 
desert.  Absalom  iied  from  the  anger  of  his  father,  but 
was  recalled  by  the  persuasions  of  Joab.  Returning,  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  undermining  of  his  father's  throne. 
He  gathered  restless  and  discontented  people  about  him 
and  made  himself  so  strong  that  they  crowned  him  king 
at  Hebron,  the  old  capital.  The  number  of  those  who 
flocked  to  join  the  army  of  Absalom  shows  not  only  the 
unrest  which  always  exists  under  a  strong  government, 
but  also  the  existence  of  a  feeling  that  David  had  taken  the 
crown  unlawfully  from  the  house  of  Saul.  So  menacing 
was  the  advance  of  Absalom  upon  Jerusalem,  and  so  un- 
certain was  David  whom  to  trust,  that  the  king  abandoned 
the  city,  and  fled  across  the  Jordan.  And  as  he  went  an 
enemy  named  Shimei  stoned  him  and  cursed  him,  crying, 
"  The  Lord  hath  returned  upon  thee  all  the  blood  of  the 
house  of  Saul,  in  whose  stead  thou  hast  reigned." 

The  account  of  the  conspiracy  is  given  with  such  knowl- 
edge of  men  and  events  that  we  perceive  that  we  are  now 
reading  history  which  was  written  by  the  men  who  were 
engaged  in  making  it. 

David  sought  refuge  among  the  loyal  tribes  in  Gilead. 
Joab  was  with  him.  Absalom  had  as  commander  in  his 
place  an  Ishmaelite  named  Amasa;  also  he  had  about 
him  certain  false  friends  who  disclosed  his  plans  to  David. 
The  rebellion  was  short-lived.  The  prince  pursued  the 
king  his  father  with  an  army,  and  the  valor  of  Amasa  was 
pitted  against  the  veteran  experience  of  Joab.     Absalom 


86  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

was  defeated,  and  in  his  retreat  became  entangled  in  the 
thick  forest.     There  Joab  found  and  killed  him. 

It  was  only  by  he  reproaches  of  Joab  that  David  was 
recalled  from  his  lamentations  over  the  death  of  his  son. 
''  I  perceive,"  said  Joab,  "  that  if  Absalom  had  lived, 
and  all  we  had  died  this  day,  then  it  had  pleased  thee 
well."  Even  then  the  king's  return  was  made  difficult 
by  the  confusion  which  the  rebellion  of  Absalom  had 
brought  upon  the  land.  David  was  obliged  to  appeal  to 
his  own  kinsfolk,  the  tribe  of  Judah.  In  his  endeavor 
to  conciliate  them,  remembering  also  what  hand  had  slain 
his  son,  he  promised  to  make  Amasa  commander  of  the 
army  in  the  place  of  Joab. 

But  when  the  king  came  back,  brought  by  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  all  the  other  tribes  were  angry.  "  Why,"  they 
said,  ''  have  our  brethren  the  men  of  Judah  stolen  thee 
away?  "  "  We  have  ten  parts  in  the  king,"  they  said  to 
Judah.  ''  We  have  more  right  in  David  than  ye."  And 
Sheba  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  rebellion.  He  blew  a  trumpet  and  cried,  "  We  have  no 
part  in  David,  neither  have  we  inheritance  in  the  son  of 
Jesse.  Every  man  to  his  tents,  O  Israel !  "  In  this  crisis, 
Amasa  proved  himself  incompetent.  He  moved  slowly 
while  the  rebels  grew  steadily  stronger.  At  last,  David 
summoned  Abishai,  and  Abishai  brought  Joab.  Amasa 
encountered  the  fate  which  had  befallen  Abner:  Joab 
met  him  with  pretended  friendship  and  killed  him.  Then 
Sheba's  rebellion  was  speedily  put  down;  and  Sheba's 
head,  flung  over  the  wall  of  a  city  which  Joab  was  besieg- 
ing, was  the  price  of  peace. 

4.  The  Psalms  of  David.  —  The  fame  of  David  as  a 
king  has  been  exceeded  by  his  fame  as  a  poet.     Of  the 


THE   REIGN   OF   DAVID  87 

hundred  and  fifty  psalms  collected  in  the  Psalter,  seventy- 
three  are  attributed  to  him.  Many  of  these  are  con- 
nected with  various  events  in  his  career :  the  fifty-first 
psalm,  for  example,  is  said  to  have  been  composed  after 
his  great  sin.  These  references,  however,  appear  not  in 
the  psalms,  but  in  the  titles  which  Jewish  scholars  pre- 
fixed to  them  for  reasons  which  are  unknown  to  us.  It  is 
known  that  David  played  upon  the  harp.  It  is  known 
also  that  he  composed  and  sang  a  song  of  lamentation 
over  the  defeat  and  death  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  (II  Sam- 
uel 1 :  17-27),  though  in  this  song  there  is  no  note  of 
religion.  The  history  contains  a  long  hymn  ascribed  to 
David  (II  Samuel  22),  filled  with  the  spirit  of  religion, 
which  appears  again  as  the  eighteenth  psalm.  In  the 
tradition  of  his  people  it  was  he  who  first  in  a  great  way 
used  music  and  verse  in  the  worship  of  God.  The  oldest 
collection  of  Hebrew  lyrical  poetry,  added  to  through 
centuries  to  make  the  Psalter  as  we  have  it,  bore  his 
name  (Psalms  72  :  20). 


XV 

THE   REIGN  OF   SOLOMON 

c.  977-937 

I.  The  Accession  of  Solomon.  /  Kings  i,  2.  — 
Bathsheba's  son,  Solomon,  became  king  before  the  death 
of  his  father.  This  was  in  consequence  of  the  conspiracy 
of  Adonijah. 

The  death  of  Absalom  left  Adonijah  the  oldest  of  the 
sons  of  David.  He  resented  the  promise  which  David  had 
made  to  Bathsheba  that  her  son  should  be  his  successor. 
Accordingly,  he  gathered  friends  about  him,  as  Absalom 
had  done,  and  when  he  felt  that  all  was  ready  he  as- 
sembled them  at  a  banquet  and  they  acclaimed  him  king. 
But  word  of  these  proceedings  came  to  the  prophet  Nathan, 
and  he  hurried  with  Bathsheba  to  the  presence  of  David, 
now  aged  and  infirm.  David,  aroused  by  these  tidings, 
instructed  Nathan  and  Zadok  the  priest  to  anoint  and 
acclaim  Solomon.  This  sudden  action  broke  up  the 
conspiracy,  and  the  leaders,  among  whom  were  Joab  and 
the  priest  Abiathar,  fled  for  safety. 

Then  Solomon  was  made  king,  and  David  died  in  peace, 
in  a  good  old  age,  full  of  days,  having  lived  to  the  end  of 
his  desire. 

The  first  act  of  Solomon  was  to  secure  his  throne  by 
putting  to  death  the  men  who  had  conspired  against  him. 

88 


THE   REIGN   OF  SOLOMON  89 

Finding  an  occasion  against  his  brother  Adonijah,  he 
sent  Benaiah,  the  captain  of  his  body-guard,  to  slay  him. 
By  the  same  hand  he  struck  down  the  aged  Joab,  who  had 
made  the  reign  of  David  possible :  Joab,  who  by  suppress- 
ing the  house  of  Saul  had  put  David  on  the  throne,  who  by 
his  own  might  had  taken  Jerusalem,  and  given  David  his 
capital,  who  had  fought  with  success  against  all  the  enemies 
of  Israel,  who  had  put  down  the  rebellion  of  Absalom  and 
the  rebellion  of  Sheba.  He  was  killed  at  the  altar  where  he 
had  taken  refuge.  Abiathar  the  priest,  who  had  stood  by 
David  since  the  days  of  the  cave  of  Adullam,  Solomon 
deposed  and  sent  to  his  home  at  Anathoth.  Opportunity 
was  found  to  kill  Shimei,  who  had  stoned  David  at  the 
time  of  his  flight  from  Absalom.  Thus  after  the  manner 
of  the  age,  he  rid  himself  of  his  adversaries. 

2.  The  Splendor  of  Solomon.  /  Kings  4-10,  // 
Chronicles  1-8;  9  :  13-31.  —  Solomon  was  contented  with 
the  extent  of  the  dominions  of  his  father.  Undertaking 
no  wars,  he  directed  his  energies  toward  increasing  the 
wealth  and  luxury  of  his  court.  He  divided  the  land  into 
twelve  provinces,  disregarding  the  ancient  boundaries  of 
the  tribes,  and  made  each  province  responsible  for  the 
maintenance  of  his  royal  household  for  one  month.  Thirty 
measures  of  fine  flour,  and  sixty  measures  of  meal,  ten 
oxen  from  the  stalls  and  twenty  from  the  pastures,  a 
hundred  sheep,  besides  deer  and  fatted  fowl,  was  the  pro- 
vision for  one  day. 

The  king  delighted  in  building.  In  the  north,  above  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  he  fortified  Hazor.  He  strengthened  the 
fortress  of  Megiddo,  commanding  the  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
and  the  fortresses  of  Gezer  and  Beth-horon,  commanding 
the  passes  from  the  west.     He  built  Tadmor,  or  Tamar,  in 


90  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

the  south  below  the  Dead  Sea.  He  made  a  wall  around 
Jerusalem.  On  the  height  of  the  holy  hill,  he  erected  a 
palace  and  a  temple,  which  were  among  the  wonders  of 
the  world 

A  part  of  the  palace  was  called  the  House  of  the  Forest  of 
Lebanon,  because  there  were  so  many  cedar  pillars  in  it. 
On  the  walls  were  hung  the  golden  shields  and  bucklers  of 
the  body-guard.  Through  a  pillared  court  one  came  into 
the  Hall  of  Judgment.  There  was  the  king's  throne  of 
ivory  overlaid  with  gold.  Beside  the  throne  stood  two 
lions,  and  twelve  lions  stood  there  on  the  one  side  and  on 
the  other  upon  the  six  steps.  Beyond  the  Hall  of  Judg- 
ment was  the  residence  of  the  king,  and  the  residence  of  his 
favorite  queen,  the  daughter  of  the  Pharaoh  of  Egypt. 
Beyond  and  above  these  buildings,  at  the  top  of  the  hill, 
was  the  temple. 

The  temple  was  built  of  stone  and  lined  with  cedar. 
Against  the  two  sides  and  the  rear  were  rooms  for  the 
priests,  in  three  stories,  entered  only  from  without.  In 
front  of  the  temple  was  a  great  altar  cut  in  the  solid  rock 
of  the  summit  of  the  hill.  There  it  was,  they  said  (II 
Samuel  24 :  16),  that  David  saw  an  angel  standing,  on  the 
threshing  floor  of  Araunah  the  Jebusite,  when  Jerusalem 
was  smitten  with  the  plague.  The  angel  stayed  his  hand, 
and  the  plague  ceased,  and  David  bought  the  place. 
Beside  the  altar  was  a  vast  bowl  of  brass,  fifty  feet  in 
circumference,  and  holding  sixteen  thousand  gallons  of 
water.  The  water  was  carried  to  the  priests  for  their 
sacrificial  purifications  in  ten  smaller  brazen  bowls  on 
wheeled  stands. 

A  flight  of  steps  led  into  the  temple.  Two  pillars  of 
brass  stood  on  either  side  of  the  entrance,  their  capitals 


THE   REIGN   OF   SOLOMON  91 

splendid  with  carved  lily-work.  The  outer  room  of  the 
temple  contained  a  table  on  which  twelve  loaves  of  bread 
were  daily  placed  representing  the  twelve  tribes,  and  a 
golden  candlestick,  or  lamp-stand,  with  seven  branches. 
In  the  dark  inner  room,  the  holy  of  holies,  whose  length 
and  breadth  and  height  were  equal,  two  figures  of  cherubs, 
sixteen  feet  tall,  overspread  with  their  wings  the  sacred 
ark,  within  which  were  the  two  tables  of  stone  inscribed 
with  the  Ten  Commandments. 

In  the  construction  of  these  buildings  Solomon  employed 
the  skill  of  his  neighbors,  the  men  of  Tyre.  They  knew 
how  to  cut  timber  and  engrave  stone,  and  were  wise  in 
all  the  art  of  architecture.  They  were  also  the  mariners 
of  that  time,  sending  their  fleets  into  all  the  waters  of  the 
Mediterranean.  They  took  the  cedar  logs  which  the 
Hebrews  carried  from  the  mountains  to  the  coast,  and 
loaded  them  upon  floats  to  be  brought  by  sea  to  Joppa, 
and  thence  to  be  carried  overland  to  Jerusalem. 

King  Solomon  had  a  navy  of  ships  at  the  port  of  Ezion- 
geber  in  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Red  Sea.  Hiram,  king 
of  Tyre,  provided  him  with  experienced  seamen.  Thus 
he  brought  gold  from  Ophir,  and  red  sandalwood  and 
precious  stones.  Once  every  three  years  his  fleet  came 
back  from  longer  voyages,  bringing  gold  and  silver,  and 
ivory  and  apes  and  peacocks.  Looking  back  upon  these 
days  of  glory,  they  said  that  Solomon  made  silver  as  com- 
mon in  Jerusalem  as  stones,  and  cedar  he  made  as  plenti- 
ful as  the  sycamore  trees  that  grow  in  the  lowland. 

3.  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon.  /  Kings  3  :  5-28 ;  4 :  29- 
34;  10:1-9,  ^I  Chronicles  9:1-12.  —  Solomon  was 
famous  for  his  wisdom.  The  renown  of  it  appears  not 
only  in  the  Bible  but  in  the  Arabian  Nights,  where  the 


92  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

king  by  his  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  the  world  could 
call  the  spirits  to  his  service.  The  wisdom  for  w^hich  he  is 
praised  in  the  Bible  was  of  a  more  homely  and  practical 
kind.  At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  he  prayed  that  God 
would  give  him  an  understanding  heart  to  judge  and  rule 
his  people.  When  two  mothers  came  bringing  two  children, 
one  living  and  one  dead,  and  each  claimed  that  the  li\dng 
child  was  hers,  he  knew  how  to  settle  the  dispute.  Even 
from  Sheba  in  Arabia,  the  queen  came  to  test  him  with 
hard  questions,  and  he  knew  the  answers  to  them  all. 
Also,  ^'  he  spake  of  trees,  from  the  cedar  that  is  in  Lebanon 
even  unto  the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall :  he 
spake  also  of  beasts,  and  of  fowl,  and  of  creeping  things, 
and  of  fishes."  The  reference  is  probably  not  to  scientific 
knowledge,  but  to  such  shrewd  sayings  as  are  found  in 
the  Proverbs  concerning  eagles  and  ants  and  lions  and 
spiders  (Proverbs  30 :  18-31).  Thus  the  book  of  Proverbs 
is  associated  with  Solomon,  and  the  book  of  Psalms  is 
associated  with  David:  Solomon  being  the  first  notable 
master  of  that  kind  of  wisdom. 

4.  The  Folly  of  Solomon.  /  Kings  11. — The  use 
which  was  made  of  the  name  of  Solomon  by  the  writers  of 
Ecclesiastes  and  of  Solomon's  Song  recalls  the  fact  that  the 
wise  king  fell  into  folly.  He  is  represented  in  Ecclesiastes 
as  looking  back  over  his  splendid  life,  and  finding  in  it 
nothing  that  was  of  value  (Ecclesiastes  2:1-11).  ''I 
made  me  great  works,"  he  says ;  "  I  builded  me  houses. 
I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold,  and  the  peculiar  treas- 
ure of  kings  and  of  the  provinces ;  whatsoever  mine  eyes 
desired  I  kept  not  from  them,  I  withheld  not  my  heart 
from  any  joy.  Then  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that  my 
hands  had  wrought,  and  behold,  all  was  vanity  and  vexa- 


THE   REIGN  OF   SOLOMON  93 

tion  of  spirit."  In  Solomon's  Song  he  is  represented  as 
desiring  to  add  to  his  harem  a  maiden  from  the  village  of 
Shunen.  The  meaning  is  obscure,  but  the  reading  of  many 
scholars  finds  the  maiden  refusing  him  and  continuing 
faithful  to  her  peasant  lover. 

The  history  says  that  Solomon  married  many  wives. 
But  that  was  the  fashion  of  the  time.  His  offence  was  in 
the  fact  that  the  wives  came  from  all  the  surrounding 
nations,  with  whom  the  king  thus  made  alliance,  and  that 
the  strange  wives  brought  their  strange  gods  with  them, 
and  that  Solomon  joined  them  in  their  worship.  Thus 
did  he  who  had  built  the  temple  build  shrines  also  in 
Jerusalem  for  Chemosh  of  Moab,  and  Molech  of  Ammon, 
and  for  Ashtoreth  the  goddess  of  the  Sidonians. 

Still  more  grievous  to  his  people  was  the  enforced  labor 
which  Solomon  put  upon  them.  Thirty  thousand  men  of 
Israel  toiled  in  the  forest  of  Lebanon.  Seventy  thousand 
were  made  bearers  of  burdens.  Eighty  thousand  hewed 
stone  in  the  mountains.  And  their  work  was  neither  for 
their  own  good,  nor  for  the  good  of  the  nation,  but  for  the 
wealth  and  glory  of  the  king.  He  chastised  the  people, 
as  they  said  afterwards,  with  whips,  driving  them  to  their 
tasks,  as  they  had  been  driven  in  Egypt. 


94 


OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 


XVI 
THE  REVOLUTION  OF  JEROBOAM 

937 

I.  The  Definite  Dates.  —  The  period  of  history  into 
which  we  now  enter  covers  almost  a  hundred  years,  begin- 
ning with  the  Revolution  of  Jeroboam  about  937  B.C.  and 
ending  with  the  Revolution  of  Jehu  in  842. 

With  this  period  we  come  into  the  time  of  definite  dates. 
The  chronological  method  of  remote  antiquity  was  to 
measure  time  by  the  length  of  the  lives  of  patriarchs  and 
founders,  or  from  the  accession  of  kings.  But  there  was 
no  fixed  starting  point.  Thus  we  are  told  that  Solomon 
reigned  forty  years  (I  Kings  11:42)  beginning  with  the 
death  of  David,  and  that  David  reigned  forty  years 
(I  Kings  2:11)  beginning  with  the  death  of  Saul.  But  we 
are  not  told  when  Saul  died.  We  have  no  starting  point. 
Moreover,  the  frequent  use  of  forty  in  the  Old  Testament 
("  forty  years,"  "  forty  days,"  many  times)  indicates  a 
round  number,  meaning  "  a  good  while."  It  is  plain  that 
accurate  chronology  has  not  yet  come  into  the  records. 

This  indefiniteness  was  changed  in  the  usage  of  Greek 
and  Latin  historians  by  the  arbitrary  adoption  of  a  Year 
One.  The  Greeks  selected  as  their  Year  One  that  which 
we  now  call  776  B.C.,  being  the  First  Olympiad;  that  is, 
the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  Olympic  games.    The 

95 


96  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Romans  selected  as  their  Year  One  that  which  we  now  call 
753  B.C.,  being  the  year  of  the  foundation  of  Rome. 

The  Assyrian  Year  One,  so  far  as  our  purposes  are  con- 
cerned, was  in  the  same  century.  The  Assyrian  plan  was 
to  call  each  year  by  the  name  of  a  magistrate,  and  to  note 
the  chief  events.  Lists  of  the  years  were  kept  in  the  li- 
brary at  Nineveh,  and  several  copies  are  still  in  existence. 
They  cover  a  period  of  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
In  one  of  these  years  there  was  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun 
in  the  month  Sivan,  which  we  call  June.  The  date  of  this 
eclipse  has  been  calculated  by  astronomers,  and  has  been 
found  to  be  in  the  year  763.  By  this  means  the  events 
of  all  these  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  are  accurately 
dated.  The  lists  begin  in  911  B.C.  and  come  down  to  666. 
Happily  for  us,  this  was  the  time  when  the  kings  of  Assyria 
were  extending  their  conquests  into  the  west.  They  were 
invading  Palestine.  Thus  we  learn  that  Jehu,  king  of 
Israel,  paid  tribute  to  Shalmaneser  II,  king  of  Assyria,  in 
842.  This  establishes  the  date  of  the  Revolution  of  Jehu. 
Then  it  is  easy,  taking  the  lengths  of  reigns  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  calculating  back,  to  find  that  Solomon's 
reign  ended  and  the  Revolution  of  Jeroboam  occurred 
about  937.  Another  entry  in  the  Assyrian  list  places  the 
fall  of  Samaria  and  the  end  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  in  722. 
There  are  minor  differences  in  some  places  between  the 
Hebrew  and  the  Assyrian  dates ;  some  scholars  place  the 
rise  of  Jeroboam  in  931  instead  of  937.  But  in  the  main 
the  course  of  the  years  is  clear,  and  the  dates  are  definite. 

2.  The  Oppression  of  the  People.  /  Samuel  8  :  10-18, 
/  Kings  12:4.  —  The  kingdom  which  Saul  had  founded, 
and  David  had  established,  and  Solomon  had  strengthened, 
was  a  mighty  kingdom,  but  the  might  belonged  to  the 


THE   REVOLUTION   OF  JEROBOAM         97 

king.  The  people  were  miserable.  He  was  rich,  but 
they  were  poor.  It  is  said,  indeed,  that  "  the  king  made 
silver  to  be  in  Jerusalem  as  stones  " ;  but  that  was  in  the 
court,  not  in  the  street.  It  is  said  also  (I  Kings  9  :  20-23) 
that  the  men  of  whom  the  king  made  slaves,  to  hew  the 
cedars  in  the  mountains  and  to  cut  the  stones  in  the 
quarries,  were  those  who  were  left  of  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants of  the  land.  On  them  did  Solomon  levy  a  tribute  of 
bond  service :  not  on  the  men  of  Israel.  The  men  of 
Israel  were  "  Men  of  war,  and  his  servants,  and  his  princes, 
and  his  captains,  and  rulers  of  his  chariots,  and  his  horse- 
men." It  is  recorded,  however,  in  other  passages  that  even 
the  people  of  Israel  complained  bitterly.  Out  of  them  also 
did  Solomon  raise  a  levy  (I  Kings  5 :  13).  Their  service, 
they  said,  was  grievous,  and  their  yoke  was  heavy  (I 
Kings  12:4).  They  remembered  the  hard  lot  of  their 
forefathers  in  Egypt.  They  found  a  description  of  Solo- 
mon in  the  warnings  of  Samuel.  ''  This  will  be  the  manner 
of  the  king  that  shall  reign  over  you :  he  will  take  your 
sons  and  appoint  them  for  himself,  for  his  chariots  and  to 
be  his  horsemen,  and  will  set  them  to  till  his  ground  and  to 
reap  his  harvest.  He  will  take  your  daughters  to  be  con- 
fectionaries,  and  to  be  cooks  and  to  be  bakers.  He  will 
take  your  fields,  and  your  vineyards,  and  your  olive  yards. 
Ye  shall  cry  out  in  that  day  because  of  your  king." 

3.  The  Beginnings  of  Rebellion.  /  Kings  11 :  14-40.  — 
Early  in  the  reign  of  Solomon,  adversaries  had  appeared 
in  the  south  and  in  the  north. 

The  Edomites  of  the  south  had  been  conquered  by  David 
(II  Samuel  8:  14),  and  Joab  the  captain  of  the  host  had 
maintained  for  six  months  a  reign  of  terror  in  that  country 
in  an  attempt  to  put  every  man  and  boy  to  death.     The 


98  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

little  prince  Hadad,  however,  had  been  taken  by  some 
of  the  fleeing  servants  of  the  court  and  carried  into  Egypt. 
There  he  remained  under  the  distinguished  favor  of  Pha- 
raoh until  both  David  and  Joab  died.  Then  he  returned, 
and  became  the  leader  of  revolt. 

About  the  same  time,  the  Syrians  of  the  north  set  them- 
selves free.  David  had  conquered  them  in  the  course  of 
his  campaign  against  the  Ammonites  (II  Samuel  lo :  6-19). 
But  Rezon,  who  had  fled  from  his  king  whom  David  had 
brought  into  subjection,  and  had  become  (like  David  him- 
self in  his  youth)  the  captain  of  a  band  of  outlaws,  took 
possession  of  Damascus,  and  there  reigned,  hating  and 
defying  Israel. 

The  most  serious  insurrection  appeared  in  Jerusalem. 
A  young  man  named  Jeroboam,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
a  widow's  son,  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Solomon  by 
his  ability  and  industry,  and  had  been  made  overseer  of 
the  men  of  his  tribe  (I  Kings  11 :  28)  whom  the  king  had 
compelled  to  labor  in  strengthening  the  wall  of  Jerusalem. 
Jeroboam  was  moved  by  the  sufferings  of  his  brethren  as 
Moses  had  been  moved  by  the  distresses  of  the  Hebrews 
under  the  lash  of  the  Egyptians.  One  day,  on  a  highway 
outside  of  Jerusalem,  he  was  met  by  a  prophet  named 
Abijah.  The  prophet  called  the  overseer  aside  into  a  field 
where  they  two  were  alone.  He  had  dressed  himself  in 
a  new  garment.  On  this  he  laid  hold  and  tore  it  into 
twelve  pieces,  and  ten  of  these  he  gave  to  Jeroboam. 
"  Take  these  ten  pieces,"  he  said,  "  for  thus  saith  the  Lord, 
the  God  of  Israel,  '  Behold,  I  will  rend  the  kingdom  out 
of  the  hand  of  Solomon,  and  will  give  ten  tribes  to  thee, 
and  thou  shalt  reign  according  to  all  that  thy  soul  desireth, 
and  shalt  be  king  over  Israel.'  "    The  reply  of  Jeroboam 


THE   REVOLUTION  OF   JEROBOAM         99 

to  this  call  is  not  recorded,  but  that  he  accepted  the  pa- 
triotic mission,  and  immediately  undertook  to  free  his 
people,  is  indicated  in  the  statement  that  Solomon  sought 
to  kill  him.  He  fled  to  Egypt,  where  the  Pharaoh  Shishak 
received  him  hospitably,  and  there  he  remained  until  the 
death  of  Solomon. 

4.  The  Declaration  of  Independence.  /  Kings  12:  i- 
24,  //  Chronicles  10.  —  The  death  of  Solomon  brought  to 
the  throne  his  son  Rehoboam.  It  also  recalled  from 
Egypt  Jeroboam  the  champion  of  the  oppressed  people. 
The  two  men  met  at  Shechem,  where  the  people  were  as- 
sembled to  decide  whether  they  would  have  Rehoboam 
for  their  king,  or  not.  Thus  the  elders  of  Israel  had  met 
at  Hebron  (II  Samuel  5:3)  and  had  anointed  David  to  be 
their  king.  Solomon,  indeed,  had  been  crowned  during 
his  father's  lifetime,  and  at  his  father's  command,  but  the 
idea  that  the  king  should  be  chosen,  or  at  least  accepted, 
by  the  people,  still  continued.  /Jeroboam  was  the  people's 
spokesman.  "  Thy  father,"  he  said,  "  made  our  yoke 
grievous.  Now  therefore  make  thou  the  grievous  service 
of  thy  father,  and  his  heavy  yoke  which  he  put  upon  us, 
lighter,  and  we  will  serve  thee." 

Rehoboam  took  three  days  for  consideration.  He  con- 
sulted first  the  older  men  who  had  watched  the  working 
of  the  policy  of  Solomon,  and  then  the  younger  men  who 
had  hardly  begun  to  be  acquainted  with  responsibility. 
They  advised  him  according  to  their  age.  The  older  men 
told  him  to  give  heed  to  the  popular  complaint.  The 
younger  men  told  him  to  defy  it.  Rehoboam,  confident 
in  his  strength,  took  the  advice  of  his  companions.  "  My 
little  finger,"  he  declared,  "  shall  be  thicker  than  my 
father's  loins.     My  father  laded  you  with  a  heavy  yoke, 


loo  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

I  will  add  to  your  yoke.  He  chastised  you  with  whips, 
I  will  chastise  you  with  scourges."  / 

Immediately  under  the  leadership  of  Jeroboam,  the 
people  asserted  themselves. 

The  tribe  of  Ephraim  which  Jeroboam  represented,  and 
the  tribe  of  Judah  which  Rehoboam  represented,  had  been 
rivals  since  the  conquest.  Ephraim  had  settled  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  kingdom,  Judah  in  the  southern. 
Saul,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  whose  land  lay  between 
Ephraim  and  Judah,  had  for  the  brief  space  of  his  reign 
united  the  north  and  the  south.  But  after  his  death,  the 
men  of  Ephraim  maintained  the  claims  of  Saul's  son, 
while  the  men  of  Judah  supported  the  claims  of  their  own 
tribesman,  David.  The  civil  war  had  been  decided  by 
the  weakness  of  Ishbosheth  and  the  overmastering  strength 
of  David,  and  the  northern  tribes  had  given  way.  Toward 
the  end  of  David's  reign,  however,  Ephraim  had  rebelled 
under  the  leadership  of  Sheba  (II  Samuel  20).  They  had 
raised  the  cry,  "  We  have  no  part  in  David.  To  your 
tents,  O  Israel  !  "  But  the  rebellion  had  been  put  down 
by  the  strong  hand  of  Joab.  During  the  reign  of  Solomon, 
Ephraim  had  seen  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  nation 
centralized  in  Judah,  and  had  been  compelled  to  labor 
under  Judean  taskmasters  in  the  building  of  Jerusalem. 
Only  a  pretext  was  needed  for  another  uprising  of  the 
north  against  the  south. 

This  pretext  was  afforded  by  the  folly  of  Rehoboam. 
The  old  cry  was  raised  again.  ''  To  your  tents,  O  Israel  ! 
Now  see  to  thine  own  house,  David  !  "  And  the  young 
king  found  himself  accepted  by  his  own  tribe  only. 

Rehoboam  could  not  believe  it.  He  sent  Adoniram, 
the  officer  in  charge  of  the  levies  of  forced  laborers  (I  Kings 


THE   REVOLUTION   OF   JEROBOAM 


lOI 


5 :  13,  14),  to  speak  to  his  rebellious  subjects,  perhaps  to 
order  them  back  to  work ;  but  they  stoned  him  to  death. 
Rehoboam  himself  escaped  only  by  mounting  his  chariot 
and  fleeing  for  his  life  to  Jerusalem.  The  assembly  of  the 
people  acclaimed  Jeroboam  king.  None  followed  the 
house  of  David  but  the  tribe  of  Judah  only. 


XVII 
THE  DIVIDED   KINGDOM 

JuDAH  Israel 

Rehoboam  937-920  Jeroboam  937-915 

Abijam  920-917 

Asa  917-876  Nadab  915-913 

Baasha  913-889 
Elah  889,  Zimri  887 
Omri  887-875 

I.  Israel  and  Judah.  —  It  was  as  if  the  kingdom  should 
be  founded  in  a  divided  England,  north  and  south,  the 
southern  kingdom  consisting  only  of  London  and  its 
neighborhood. 

Rehoboam  had  the  advantage  of  possessing  the  capital, 
and  of  inheriting  the  fame  and  wealth  of  David  and  Solo- 
mon. He  had  also  certain  advantages  of  situation : 
his  little  kingdom  was  exposed,  indeed,  to  attack  from 
Edom  and  from  Egypt,  but  it  was  sheltered  for  a  time  from 
the  invasion  of  two  enemies,  Syria  and  Assyria,  who 
must  first  conquer  the  northern  kingdom  before  they  could 
approach  the  southern.  Moreover,  it  was  cut  off  in  some 
measure  from  those  foreign  influences  which,  in  the  reign 
of  Solomon,  had  begun  to  change  the  life  and  debase  the 
religion  of  the  Hebrews. 

The  history  as  we  have  it  in  Kings  and  Chronicles  was 
written  for  the  most  part  by  southern  men,  from  the 
southern  point  of  view.     Indeed,   the  Chronicler  omits 


THE  DIVIDED   KINGDOM  103 

the  northern  kingdom  almost  entirely.  He  regarded  the 
northerners  as  rebels  from  the  true  state,  and  as  dissenters 
from  the  true  church.  Even  the  great  ministries  of 
Elijah  and  Elisha  had  no  interest  for  him.  We  have  to 
take  this  natural  prejudice  into  account  in  estimating  the 
situation. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  northern  kingdom  included  by 
far  the  greater  part  of  the  Hebrew  people.  It  called  itself 
by  the  name  which  had  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Saul, 
of  David  and  of  Solomon,  the  Kingdom  of  Israel.  They 
who  were  loyal  to  Rehoboam  had  to  choose  a  new  name, 
calling  themselves  the  Kingdom  oj  Judah.  !  The  northern 
kingdom  contained  so  large  a  portion  of  the  Holy  Land 
that  its  southern  fortress  of  Ramah  was  only  about  six 
miles  north  of  Jerusalem.  Even  when  this  fortress  was 
taken  and  destroyed,  the  men  of  Judah  did  not  venture  to 
extend  their  boundary,  but  contented  themselves  with 
fortifying  Geba  and  Mizpah,  a  mile  nearer  to  their  capital. 
Israel  had  the  fertile  land,  with  wide  plains  and  rich  valleys, 
and  carried  on  a  profitable  commerce  with  the  Phoenicians 
of  Tyre,  on  the  northwest,  and  with  the  Syrians  of 
Damascus,  on  the  northeast. 

At  the  same  time,  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  subject  to 
serious  disadvantages. 

Its  wide  territory  was  cut  across  by  the  plain  of  Esdrae- 
Ion,  which  parted  its  northern  tribes  from  the  southern, 
and  by  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  which  parted  its  eastern 
tribes  from  the  western.  It  lacked  the  compactness  of 
Judah.  It  lacked  also  the  centralized  strength  of  such  a 
commanding  capital  as  Jerusalem.  It  was  therefore  much 
more  dijfficult  to  govern.  Instead  of  a  single  royal  family, 
as  in  Judah,  possessing  the  throne  from  generation  to  gen- 


I04  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

eration,  its  history  was  interrupted  by  a  series  of  revolu- 
tions. Thus,  although  Jeroboam  was  able  to  hand  down 
the  sceptre  to  his  son,  his  son  was  able  to  keep  it  only 
two  years,  when  he  was  assassinated.  And  this  kind  of 
tragedy  was  repeated  again  and  again. 

Moreover,  the  wealth  which  was  gained  by  tilling  the 
fertile  fields  and  by  trading  with  Syrians  and  Phoenicians 
emphasized  those  contrasts  between  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
with  selfishness  on  the  one  side  and  misery  on  the  other, 
which  are  the  shadows  cast  by  all  abounding  prosperity. 
The  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  pagan  neighbors 
carried  with  it  the  rites  and  customs  of  paganism,  and 
corrupted  the  purity  of  Hebrew  religion.  Also  the  wide 
lands,  whose  uncertain  boundaries  were  defended  with 
difficulty,  exposed  Israel  to  constant  attack,  and  lay  on 
the  line  of  march  of  those  ambitious  nations,  first  Syria, 
and  then  Assyria,  who  were  determined  to  extend  their 
borders. 

2.  The  Reign  of  Rehoboam.  I  Kings  12:21-24, 
14:  1-31,  //  Chronicles  11,  12.^-The  first  desire  of  the 
young  king  was  to  bring  into  subjection  the  people  who  had 
so  unexpectedly  refused  to  receive  him.  He  assembled, 
such  warriors  as  were  left  to  him  in  Judah,  and  in  Benjamin 
which  bordered  on  Judah,  and  proposed  to  fight  to  win  his 
kingdom  back.  From  this  rash  undertaking  he  was  dis- 
suaded by  a  prophet  named  Shemaiah,  who  declared 
boldly  that  the  division  of  the  kingdom  was  the  Lord's 
doing.  "  Ye  shall  not  go  up,  nor  fight  against  your 
brethren  the  children  of  Israel:  return  every  man  to  his 
house;  for  this  thing,"  saith  the  Lord,  '' is  from  me." 
Rehoboam,  accordingly,  contented  himself  with  strength- 
ening such  cities  as  remained,  and  the  two  kingdoms  went 


THE   DIVIDED   KINGDOM  105 

on  each  in  its  own  way.  The  Chronicler,  i^yriting  his  his- 
tory six  or  seven  hundred  years  after  these  events,  and 
describing  what  he  felt  sure  must  have  taken  place^  says 
that  all  the  priests  and  the  Levites  forsook  Israel  and  came 
down  to  Judah,  and  that  along  with  them  came  all  the 
loyal  and  devout  people,  "  such  as  set  their  hearts  to  seek 
the  Lord."  But  of  such  an  emigration  the  books  of  Kings 
say  nothing. 

The  Old  Testament  historians  agree,  however,  that  a 
heavy  calamity  came  upon  Rehoboam  in  the  form  of  an 
invasion  of  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt.  Every  such  disaster 
had  its  occasion,  so  men  thought,  in  the  sins  of  the  people. 
The  prophet  Shemaiah  declared  this  plainly.  The  only 
reason  why  Shishak  did  not  entirely  destroy  the  kingdom 
of  Judah,  he  said,  was  because  the  people  humbled  them- 
selves before  the  Lord.  Even  so,  the  Egyptians  plundered 
Jerusalem,  and  took  away  the  treasures  of  the  king's 
house  and  of  the  Lord's  house,  even  all  the  shields  of  gold 
which  hung  upon  the  walls  of  the  Hall  of  the  Forest  of 
Lebanon;  and  Rehoboam  had  to  make  shields  of  brass 
to  hang  in  their  places. 

On  the  southern  wall  of  the  temple  of  Amon  at  Karnak, 
Shishak  inscribed  a  long  list  of  cities  of  Palestine  which  he 
captured  in  this  campaign.  It  thus  appears  that  not  only 
Rehoboam  but  Jeroboam  suffered  in  the  invasion.  The 
whole  divided  kingdom  may  have  fallen  for  a  time  into  the 
hands  of  Egypt.  "  They  shall  be  Shishak's  servants," 
said  the  Lord  by  Shemaiah,  ''  that  they  may  know  [the 
difference  between]  my  service,  and  the  service  of  the  kings 
of  the  countries." 

Thus  the  inglorious  reign  of  Rehoboam  came  to  an  end, 
and  Abijam  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead. 


io6  OLD    TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

3.  The  Reign  of  Jeroboam.  /  Kings  12:25-14:20, 
//  Chronicles  13.  —  Abijam's  reign  lasted  but  three  years, 
and  the  writer  of  Kings  knew  of  no  incident  in  it  worth 
recording.  Only  he  says  there  was  war  between  him  and 
Jeroboam.  The  Chronicler  gives  an  account  of  one  of  the 
battles  of  this  war.  The  king  of  Judah  had  a  considerable 
army,  but  it  was  only  half  the  size  of  the  army  of  the  king 
of  Israel.  In  a  speech  before  the  fight,  Abijam  reviled 
Jeroboam  as  a  rebellious  and  profane  person  who  had  cast 
off  the  religion  of  his  fathers.  "  The  Lord  is  our  God," 
cried  Abijam,  "  and  we  have  not  forsaken  him."  Then 
the  Judeans  marched  into  battle,  the  priests  going  before 
them  blowing  the  trumpets  of  alarm,  and  although  the 
Israelites  led  them  into  an  ambush,  still  the  southern  army 
won  a  decisive  victory :  "  there  fell  down  slain  of  Israel 
five  hundred  thousand  chosen  men."  This  is,  perhaps, 
what  ought  to  have  taken  place,  according  to  the  Chroni- 
cler, rather  than  what  actually  happened. 

Jeroboam  established  his  capital  at  Shechem, '  where 
Abimelech  (Judges  9)  had  undertaken  to  maintain  the 
short-lived  monarchy  of  the  House  of  Gideon.  In  the 
place  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  he  adopted  the  ancient 
shrine  of  Bethel  (Genesis  28,  35  :  9-15)  in  the  south,  and  of 
Dan  (Judges  18)  in  the  north.  These  shrines  he  adorned 
with  golden  calves  or  bulls,  such  as  Aaron  is  said  to  have 
made  for  the  worship  of  the  people  in  the  wilderness.  In 
this,  Jeroboam  had  no  wrong  intention.  In  the  temple 
of  Solomon,  even  in  the  Most  Holy  Place,  there  were  im- 
ages of  creatures  whose  wings  overspread  the  ark.  Many 
years  were  still  to  pass  before  the  Hebrews  had  learned  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  second  commandment. 

Two  stories  illustrate  the  southern  feeling  against 
Jeroboam. 


THE   DIVIDED    KINGDOM  107 

One  story  (I  Kings  13)  is  that  a  man  of  God  from  Judah 
went  to  Bethel  and,  at  the  altar  there,  rebuked  Jeroboam 
to  his  face.  When  Jeroboam  put  out  his  hand  to  seize 
him,  his  hand  was  withered,  and  the  altar  was  broken. 
Afterward,  the  man  of  God,  who  had  been  forbidden  to 
eat  bread  in  Bethel,  was  deceived  by  an  old  prophet  of  that 
place  and  went  in  and  ate  bread  with  him,  and  was  killed 
by  a  lion. 

The  other  story  (I  Kings  14)  is  that  Jeroboam's  wife,  in 
distress  because  of  the  sickness  of  their  little  son,  went  for 
comfort  to  the  prophet  Ahijah,  then  old  and  blind,  and  that 
the  prophet  not  only  told  the  poor  mother  that  the  child 
should  die,  but  added  the  assurance  of  a  bad  end  to  the 
whole  family  of  Jeroboam. 

4.  Asa  and  Five  Kings  of  Israel.  I  Kings  15  :  9-16  :  28, 
//  Chronicles  14-16. — The  tragedy  predicted  in  the  hard 
words  of  Ahijah  came  to  pass  in  the  case  of  Jeroboam's  son 
and  successor,  Nadab.  (  He  had  reigned  two  years,  and  was 
in  the  midst  of  the  siege  of  Gibbethon  of  the  Philistines, 
when  a  man  named  Baasha,  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  made 
a  conspiracy  against  him  and  killed  him,  and  also  killed 
,    with  him  every  membj^r  of  the  house  of  Jeroboam. 

i^^ Asa  was  king  of  I^ael  at  that  time.    .The  Chronicler 

says  that  after  ten  years  of  peace,  during  which  the  king 
had  taken  away  many  strange  altars  and  broken  many  images 
sacred  to  the  sun,  the  land  was  invaded  by  Zerah  the 
Ethiopian  with  an  army  of  a  thousand  thousand  men .  And 
Asa  prayed,  and  said,  "Lord,  there  is  none  beside  thee  to 
help,  between  the  mighty  and  the  weak :  help  us,  O  Lord  our 
God,  for  we  rely  on  thee,  and  in  thy  name  are  we  come 
against  this  multitude."  Then  the  battle  was  joined,  and 
the  Ethiopians  were  defeated.    And  Asa,  encouraged  by 


io8  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

this  victory,  renewed  the  altar  of  the  Lord  which  was  be- 
fore the  porch  of  the  temple,  and  even  expelled  his  mother  / 
from  his  court  because  she  had  made  an  abominable  idol. 

Asa  was  not  so  successful  in  his  war  with  Baasha.  /Almost 
within  sight  of  Jerusalem,  Baasha  had  built  the  forti- 
fications of  Ramah.  Asa  could  not  prevent  it.  There 
was  the  new  fort,  proclaiming  the  power  of  Israel,  both  a 
threat  and  an  insult,  but  Asa  did  not  venture  to  attack  it. 
Instead  of  that,  he  took  the  gold  and  silver  that  he  had, 
and  hired  Benhadad,  king  of  Syria,  to  invade  Baasha 
from  behind.  Baasha,  being  set  upon  by  this  new  enemy, 
was  obliged  to  withdraw  from  Ramah  and  to  stop  his  plans 
against  Jerusalem.  The  Chronicler  says  that  Asa  was 
properly  rebuked  by  the  seer  Hanani,  whom  he  put  in 
the  stocks  for  his  plain  speaking.  I 

In  the  northern  kingdom,  Hanani's  son  Jehu  rebuked 
King  Baasha  for  evil-doing,  of  which  the  history  gives  no 
details,  and  the  curse  was  fulfilled  in  his  son  and  successor, 
Elah,  who  was  killed  in  a  drunken  debauch  by  Zimri, 
captain  of  half  his  chariot  force.  News  of  this  tragedy 
coming  to  the  army,  which  was  still  engaged  in  the  siege 
of  Gibbethon,  they  acclaimed  Omri  as  king;  others  ac- 
claimed Tibni.  Within  seven  days  Omri  was  besieging 
Tirzah,  Zimri's  capital,  and  Zimri,  finding  that  the  for- 
tunes of  war  were  against  him,  burned  his  palace  over  his 
head  and  perished  in  the  ruins.  Omri  then  overcame  his 
rival  Tibni,  and  became  undisputed  king  of  Israel. 

Omri  removed  the  capital  from  Tirzah,  which  was  a 
few  miles  northeast  of  Shechem,  to  Samaria,  a  few  miles 
northwest.  There  on  a  strong  height  he  built  a  city  which 
was  thereafter  to  the  northern  kingdom  what  Jerusalem 
was  to  the  southern,  a  fortress  almost  invincible,  able  to 


THE   DIVIDED    KINGDOM  109 

stand  the  shock  of  great  invading  armies.  An  inscribed 
stone  which  was  found  in  the  land  of  Moab  records  Omri's 
conquest  of  Moab.  Omri  was  king  of  Israel,  and  op- 
pressed Moab  a  long  time  because  Chemosh  was  angry 
with  his  land.  References  to  the  "  statutes  of  Omri " 
(Micah  6:16)  and  to  the  "  princes  of  the  provinces  " 
(I  Kings  20:  15)  may  indicate  that  the  king  applied  him- 
self to  the  organization  of  his  kingdom.  So  deeply  did 
he  impress  his  neighbors  in  the  east  that  Palestine  was 
called  "  the  land  of  the  house  of  Omri  "  even  in  the  in- 
scriptions of  Sargon  of  Assyria,  who  destroyed  Samaria 
in  722. 


XVIII 

AHAB  AND  JEHOSHAPHAT 

JuDAH  Israel 

Jehoshaphat  876-851  Ahab  875-853 

I.  The  First  Syrian  War.  I  Kings  20.  —  The  situation 
which  Ahab  found  when  he  succeeded  his  father  Omri 
shows  that  the  Syrians  had  done  very  thoroughly  the 
work  which  Asa  had  hired  them  to  do.  They  had  taken 
IsraeHte  cities  north  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  (I  Kings 
15:20)  and  east  of  the  Jordan  (I  Kings  22:3).  They 
had  compelled  Omri  to  set  apart  certain  streets  for  them 
in  his  capital  city,  Samaria  (I  Kings  20  :  34),  probably 
for  purposes  of  trading.  Benhadad,  king  of  Syria,  pro- 
ceeded now  to  besiege  Ahab  in  Samaria,  intending  to 
bring  the  whole  kingdom  of  Israel  into  subjection.  Ahab, 
at  first,  saw  no  way  of  escape. 

Benhadad  sent  ambassadors  from  Damascus  to  Samaria 
to  demand  a  tribute  of  gold  and  silver.  And  Ahab  an- 
swered, ''  My  lord,  O  King,  according  to  thy  saying,  I 
am  thine,  and  all  that  I  have."  Emboldened  by  this  sub- 
mission, ambassadors  were  sent  again  to  demand  the 
giving  over  of  the  city  to  plunder.  ''  I  will  send  my 
servants  unto  thee  to-morrow  about  this  time,  and  they 
shall  search  thine  house,  and  the  houses  of  thy  servants ; 
and  it  shall  be  that  whatsoever  is  pleasant  in  thine  eyes, 


AHAB   AND   JEHOSHAPHAT  iii 

they  shall  put  it  in  their  hand  and  take  it  away."  This 
demand  Ahab  refused. 

So  there  was  war.  Benhadad  said,  ''  The  gods  do  so 
unto  me,  and  more  also,  if  the  dust  of  Samaria  shall  suf- 
fice for  handfuls  for  all  the  people  that  follow  me."  Ahab 
said,  ''Tell  him,  '  Let  not  him  that  girdeth  on  his  armor 
boast  himself  as  he  that  putteth  it  off.'  " 

In  this  modest  defiance,  Ahab  was  encouraged  by  a 
prophet  who  assured  him  of  certain  victory.  So  they 
went  out  to  battle.  Benhadad  in  the  confidence  of  his 
might  was  drinking  himself  drunk  in  the  pavilions  when 
word  was  brought  that  the  Israelites  were  coming.  He 
gave  a  drunken  order  to  take  them  alive,  whether  they 
came  for  peace  or  came  for  war.  Immediately  the  Is- 
raelites fell  upon  the  Syrians  and  threw  the  whole  camp 
into  disorder.  Some  of  them  they  slew,  others  they  put 
to  flight,  and  Benhadad  himself  escaped  only  by  the 
swiftness  of  his  horse. 

A  year  later,  the  Syrians  returned.  They  had  ac- 
counted for  their  defeat  by  the  theory  that  the  gods  of 
Israel  were  gods  of  the  hills  while  the  gods  of  Syria  were 
gods  of  the  plain.  "  What  we  must  do,"  they  said,  "  is 
to  fight  them  in  the  plain."  They  took  the  precaution, 
however,  to  remove  the  princes  who  had  been  in  command 
on  the  occasion  of  the  former  battle,  and  to  put  captains 
in  their  places. 

The  armies  met  at  Aphek,  east  of  the  Jordan,  on  a  high 
plain  overlooking  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The  Syrians  filled 
the  country.  The  Israelites  pitched  their  tents  before 
them  "  like  two  little  flocks  of  kids."  For  seven  days  the 
hosts  encamped  opposite  each  other,  then  the  battle  was 
joined,  and  again  the  Syrians  were  put  to  flight.     Ben- 


112  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

hadad  hid  himself  in  Aphek,  and  sent  his  servants,  dressed 
in  sackcloth  and  having  ropes  around  their  heads,  to  beg 
for  mercy.  Ahab  received  them  graciously,  called  for 
Benhadad,  took  him  into  his  chariot,  and  made  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  him.  The  Syrians  agreed  to  restore  the  cities 
which  they  had  taken  from  the  Israelites,  and  to  give 
them  streets  in  Damascus,  as  the  Israelites  had  given  the 
Syrians  streets  in  Samaria. 

2.  Ahab*s  Policy  of  Peace.  /  Kings  20  :  35-43.  —  The 
peace  thus  made  was  a  source  of  strength  to  the  kingdom 
of  Israel.  It  opened  to  the  Israelites  the  markets  of  Da- 
mascus, and  the  caravan  routes  to  the  east. 

It  is  possible  that  Ahab  had  also  in  mind  the  new  peril 
which  was  appearing  in  the  ambition  of  Assyria.  Al- 
ready, according  to  the  inscriptions,  Assur-nazir-pal  had 
marched  across  the  range  of  Lebanon,  washed  his  sword 
in  the  Great  Sea,  and  taken  tribute  of  Tyre  and  Sidon. 
Also,  according  to  the  inscriptions,  the  next  Assyrian 
king,  Shalmaneser  II,  invaded  the  western  provinces, 
and  at  the  battle  of  Karkar,  in  854,  was  met  by  Ahab  and 
Benhadad,  and  their  neighbors.  Benhadad  is  said  to 
have  come  to  battle  bringing  twelve  hundred  chariots  and 
horsemen  and  twenty  thousand  footmen.  Ahab  came 
with  two  thousand  chariots  and  ten  thousand  footmen. 
The  many  chariots  of  Ahab  may  have  been  the  spoil  of 
the  battle  of  Aphek.  Thus  Ahab  may  well  have  felt 
that  the  alliance  with  Syria  was  necessary  for  protection 
against  the  Assyrians. 

The  policy  of  the  king  met  with  the  disapproval  of  the 
prophets.  As  Ahab  was  returning  from  the  victory  of 
Aphek,  having  spared  Benhadad,  a  man  met  him  whose 
face  was  bandaged.     The  man  cried  to  the  king  and  said, 


AHAB   AND   JEHOSHAPHAT  113 

"  In  the  midst  of  the  battle,  I  was  given  a  prisoner  to  keep, 
my  life  for  his  life  if  he  escaped,  and  while  I  was  busy 
here  and  there,  he  was  gone !  "  The  king  said,  "  Thy  life 
shall  be  for  his  life ;  thou  hast  decided  it."  Then  the  man 
took  the  bandage  from  his  face,  and  the  king  saw  that  he 
was  one  of  the  prophets.  And  the  prophet  said,  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Because  thou  hast  let  go  out  of  thine  hand 
a  man  whom  I  appointed  to  utter  destruction,  therefore 
thy  life  shall  go  for  his  life."  For  the  prophets  were  not 
interested  in  the  politics  but  in  the  religion  of  the  nation. 
They  cared  more  for  the  national  character  than  for  the 
national  prosperity.  They  wisely  feared  the  moral  in- 
fluences of  this  alliance  with  the  Syrians. 

The  prophets  were  of  the  same  mind  regarding  the  al- 
liance which  Ahab  made  with  the  Phoenicians.  These 
people  were  the  mariners  and  merchants  of  the  ancient 
world  (Ezekiel  27).  Out  of  their  harbors  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  their  ships  sailed  into  all  seas.  A  priest  of  Baal, 
named  Ethbaal,  was  king  of  these  Phoenicians.  He  had 
gained  the  throne,  according  to  an  ancient  historian,  by 
the  assassination  of  his  predecessor.  Ethbaal's  daughter, 
Jezebel,  Ahab  had  married  (I  Kings  16  :  31).  She  brought 
her  religion  with  her,  and  Ahab  built  for  her  a  temple  and 
an  altar  in  Samaria.  It  was  no  more  than  Solomon  had 
done  for  his  foreign  wives  (I  Kings  11 :  7,  8),  but  it  became 
a  serious  danger  to  the  religion  of  Israel,  because  Jezebel 
was  a  strong  and  active  person  who  gathered  her  priests 
about  her,  and  opposed  and  persecuted  the  prophets  of 
the  Lord. 

A  third  alliance  of  friendship  or  of  supremacy  was  made 
with  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah, 
made  peace  with  the  king  of  Israel  (I  Kings  22  :  44).     In 


114  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

order  to  make  this  peace  permanent,  Ahab's  daughter, 
Athahah,  was  married  to  Jehoshaphat's  son,  Jehoram. 

3.  The  Second  Syrian  War.  I  Kings  22 :  1-50,  // 
Chronicles  18.  —  Jehoshaphat,  according  to  the  Chron- 
icler, continued  the  reforms  of  his  father  Asa,  not  only  by 
breaking  idols  but  by  appointing  teachers  of  true  religion 
(II  Chronicles  17:7-9).  They  went  about  among  the 
towns  of  Judah,  having  the  book  of  the  Law  of  the  Lord 
with  them.  Jehoshaphat  built  castles  and  cities,  and  had 
a  strong  army. 

With  this  army,  Jehoshaphat  was  summoned  by  Ahab 
to  join  him  in  a  second  Syrian  war.  In  spite  of  the  treaty 
of  peace,  whereby  the  Syrians  agreed  to  give  back  the 
cities  which  they  had  taken  from  Israel,  Ramoth  in  Gilead 
was  still  in  their  possession.  Now  after  three  years, 
Ahab  proposed  to  go  over  and  take  it,  and  Jehoshaphat 
agreed  to  help  him. 

The  two  kings  with  their  armies  met  at  the  gate  of 
Samaria,  and  consulted  the  prophets  as  to  the  result  of 
their  expedition.  "  Shall  I  go  against  Ramoth- Gilead?  " 
said  Ahab,  '^  or  shall  I  forbear?"  The  prophets  with 
one  voice  cried,  ''  Go  up ;  for  the  Lord  shall  deliver  it 
into  the  hand  of  the  king." 

But  the  king  of  Judah  was  not  satisfied.  The  four 
hundred  prophets  seemed  too  ready  with  their  confident 
approval.  "  Is  there  not  here,"  he  said,  "  another 
prophet  of  the  Lord,  that  we  might  enquire  of  him?  "  So 
Ahab  sent  for  the  prophet  Micaiah,  whom,  as  he  said,  he 
hated,  because  he  commonly  prophesied  evil  rather  than 
good. 

The  kings  sat  each  on  his  throne,  each  in  his  royal  robes, 
at  the  gate  of  Samaria.     While  the  messengers  were  fetch- 


AHAB   AND    JEHOSHAPHAT  115 

ing  Micaiah,  one  of  the  prophets  named  Zedekiah  brought 
out  horns  of  iron  which  he  had  made.  "  With  these," 
he  said,  "  shalt  thou  push  the  Syrians,  until  thou  hast 
consumed  them."  Then  Micaiah  came,  and  Ahab  said, 
*'  Shall  we  go,  or  not?  "  And  Micaiah  answered,  "  Go 
and  prosper,  for  the  Lord  shall  deliver  Ramoth  into  the 
hands  of  the  king."  But  it  was  plain  by  his  voice  and 
face  that  he  did  not  mean  what  he  said.  "  Come,"  said 
the  king,  "  tell  us  the  truth."  And  Micaiah  answered,  "I 
saw  all  Israel  scattered  upon  the  hills  as  sheep  that  have 
not  a  shepherd."  He  said  also,  "  I  saw  the  Lord  sitting 
on  his  throne,  and  all  the  host  of  heaven  standing  by  him 
on  his  right  hand  and  on  his  left.     And  the  Lord  said, 

*  Who  shall  persuade  Ahab,  that  he  may  go  up,  and  fall 
at  Ramoth-Gilead  ? '  And  there  came  forth  a  spirit 
and  said,  *I  will  persuade  him.'     And  the   Lord  said, 

*  Wherewith  ?  '  And  he  said,  '  I  will  go  forth  and  be  a 
lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets.' " 

Then  Zedekiah  struck  Micaiah  in  the  face,  and  Ahab 
took  the  prophet  who  had  been  brave  enough  to  tell  the 
truth  and  had  him  put  in  prison.  ''  Feed  him  with  bread 
of  afHiction  and  with  water  of  affliction  until  I  come  in 
peace." 

So  the  king  of  Israel  and  the  king  of  Judah  went  up  to 
battle.  Ahab  was  enough  impressed  by  the  prophecy  of 
evil  to  take  the  precaution  of  disguising  himself.  Jehosh- 
aphat  went  in  his  royal  robes.  And  in  the  battle,  the 
captains  of  the  king  of  Syria  fell  upon  Jehoshaphat, 
mistaking  him  for  Ahab,  till  he  cried  out  and  so  escaped. 
But  a  man  who  drew  his  bow  at  a  venture,  not  knowing 
what  he  did,  smote  the  king  of  Israel  between  the  joints 
of  his  armor.     The  wounded  king  was  held  up  in  his  char- 


ii6  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

iot  till  the  sun  began  to  set.  Then  he  died.  And  there 
went  a  cry  throughout  the  army.  "  Every  man  to  his 
city,  and  every  man  to  his  own  country,  for  the  king  is 
dead."  Thus  in  defeat  and  tragedy  the  reign  of  Ahab 
came  to  an  end,  and  Ahaziah  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead. 
As  for  Jehoshaphat,  he  returned  safely  to  Jerusalem, 
where  Jehu  the  son  of  Hanani  rebuked  him  for  his  alli- 
ance with  Israel.  He  appointed  judges  in  his  cities,  bid- 
ding them  remember  that  they  were  in  the  service  of  the 
Lord  and  not  of  men.  ''  Deal  courageously,"  he  said, 
"  and  the  Lord  be  with  the  good  "  (II  Chronicles  19 :  4-1 1). 
The  king  lived  long  enough  to  have  dealings  with  Ahaziah, 
and  with  Ahaziah's  brother  and  successor  Jehoram. 


XIX 
THE  PROPHET  ELIJAH 

I.  Baal  or  Jehovah?  —  More  important  than  the  war 
with  Syria,  was  the  contention  between  the  religion  of 
Jehovah  and  the  religion  of  Baal.  This  contention  had 
been  going  on  since  the  time  of  the  conquest.  The  He- 
brews entering  the  land  of  Canaan  had  found  the  country 
filled  with  shrines.  Every  high  place  had  its  altar,  every 
great  tree  was  sacred  to  a  local  god.  The  common  name 
of  all  these  local  gods  was  Baal,  meaning  Lord. 

The  Hebrews  came  but  slowly  to  realize  that  there  is 
one  God  over  all  the  earth.  Jehovah  was,  indeed,  the 
one  God  of  their  race  and  religion,  and  they  were  forbid- 
den to  have  any  other.  But  they  believed  that  there  were 
other  gods.  Chemosh  was  the  god  of  Moab  (Judges 
II :  24),  Molech  was  the  god  of  Ammon  (I  Kings  11:7). 
Among  these  gods  there  was  none  like  unto  the  Lord 
Jehovah  (Psalms  86  :  8),  but  there  they  were,  supernatural 
beings  having  a  real  existence.  The  wiser  Hebrews,  the 
leaders  of  the  true  religion,  hated  these  gods,  but  they  did 
not  yet  deny  that  they  were  gods.  As  for  the  people, 
they  were  continually  in  temptation  to  pray  to  the  Baal 
of  the  nearest  shrine,  because  the  Baals  (Baalim  is  the 
plural  in  Hebrew)  were  believed  to  be  connected  with  the 
rain  and  the  sun  and  the  soil.  They  were  the  gods  of 
agriculture.     The  Hebrews  learned  agriculture  from  the 

117 


ii8  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

native  people  of  the  land;  they  had  no  knowledge  of 
farming  till  they  came  to  Canaan.  And  as  they  learned 
to  plough  and  sow  and  reap,  they  learned  at  the  same  time 
to  pray  to  the  proper  Baal  of  fertility.  Moreover,  there 
were  customs  and  ceremonies  connected  with  these  shrines, 
festivals  of  springtime  and  harvest,  music  and  dancing, 
some  of  it  good,  but  some  of  them  morally  bad.  Thus 
not  only  the  religion  but  the  character  of  the  Hebrews 
was  in  peril. 

When  Ahab  married  the  daughter  of  a  priest  of  Baal, 
and  this  religion  was  thus  introduced  even  into  the  court 
of  Israel,  all  these  temptations  were  magnified.  It  was 
not  the  intention  of  Ahab  to  expel,  or  even  to  subordinate, 
the  religion  of  Jehovah.  So  far  as  he  was  concerned, 
that  was  his  own  religion  to  the  day  of  his  death.  The 
prophets  whom  he  consulted  on  the  eve  of  his  last  battle 
were  prophets  of  Jehovah,  not  of  Baal.  He  was  content 
to  permit  his  wife  to  keep  her  own  religion,  and  to  worship 
in  her  own  temple.  The  stories  of  Elijah,  however,  make 
it  plain  that  this  was  not  the  mind  of  Jezebel.  Her  strong 
will,  and  her  devotion  to  the  Baal  of  the  Sidonians,  whose 
priest  her  father  had  been,  put  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
in  grave  peril.  For  this  Baal  was  not,  like  the  other  Baals, 
the  spirit  of  a  local  shrine,  but  the  god  of  a  national  re- 
ligion. 

2.  "The  Lord,  He  is  the  God."  /  Kings  17-19. —A 
definite  choice  between  Baal  and  Jehovah  was  forced  upon 
the  nation  by  the  prophet  Elijah. 

In  the  midst  of  the  historical  records  in  the  books  of 
Kings  appear  the  half-dozen  chapters  which  contain  the 
account  of  Elijah ;  as  different  from  the  others  as  poetry 
is  different  from  prose,  or  as  the  lives  of  the  saints  are 


THE   PROPHET   ELIJAH  119 

different  from  the  lives  of  the  contemporary  sovereigns 
and  statesmen.  The  narrative  suddenly  takes  on  a  new 
interest;  it  becomes  dramatic;  it  is  filled  with  mystery 
and  marvel.  A  man  appears  in  the  court  of  Israel  who 
is  able  to  prevent  the  clouds  from  raining,  and  can  call 
down  fire  from  heaven.  The  point  of  view  is  changed: 
the  history  was  concerned  with  Ahab's  wars  and  foreign 
alliances,  the  stories  deal  with  the  religious  and  social 
situation  within  the  kingdom.  Ahab  appears  in  a  differ- 
ent light :  the  strong  king,  advancing  the  power  and  pros- 
perity of  the  nation,  the  brave  soldier  whose  death  brings 
immediate  defeat  upon  the  army,  is  here  seen  under  the 
influence  of  his  pagan  wife,  permitting  the  persecution  of 
the  prophets  of  the  Lord,  and  allowing  one  of  his  subjects 
to  be  put  to  death  that  he  may  take  his  land.  Over 
against  the  king  and  queen  stands  the  prophet  Elijah. 

Elijah  came  from  the  country  across  the  Jordan,  from 
Gilead,  where  the  wild  hills  meet  the  desert.  He  is  de- 
scribed (II  Kings  1:8)  as  '^  an  hairy  man  and  girt  with 
a  girdle  of  leather  about  his  loins."  This  may  mean  that 
his  hair  and  beard  were  long,  or  that  he  was  dressed  in  a 
hairy  garment,  such  as  the  skin  of  a  camel.  In  either 
case,  it  was  plain  from  his  appearance  that  he  was  a  man 
of  the  woods  and  mountains. 

This  strange-looking  person  suddenly  confronted  Ahab 
in  his  palace  and  announced  a  drought.  "  As  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel  liveth,  before  whom  I  stand,  there  shall  not 
be  dew  nor  rain  these  years,  but  according  to  my  word." 
The  meaning  of  this  announcement  was  plain.  The  people 
were  believing  that  it  was  Baal  who  gave  or  withheld  the 
rain ;  they  were  now  to  be  taught  that  the  sky  over  the 
land  of  Israel  belonged  to  Jehovah. 


I20  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

Elijah  departed  as  mysteriously  as  he  had  come,  and 
hid  himself  for  a  time  in  the  valley  of  a  brook  which  flowed 
into  the  Jordan,  where  the  ravens  fed  him  till  the  brook 
dried  up.  Then  he  made  his  way  into  Phoenicia,  to  a 
village  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sidon,  where  a  widow 
woman  gave  him  a  lodging.  And  all  the  time  that  he 
lived  in  her  house,  her  barrel  of  meal  did  not  waste,  neither 
did  her  cruse  of  oil  fail,  no  matter  how  much  was  taken  out ; 
and  when  the  widow's  son  fell  sick,  Elijah  brought  him 
back  to  life. 

So  three  years  passed,  and  there  was  neither  dew  nor 
rain.  The  contention  between  the  two  religions  deepened 
into  persecution.  The  altars  of  the  Lord  were  thrown 
down,  and  the  prophets  of  the  Lord  were  slain  with  the 
sword  or  hid  themselves  in  caves.  The  drought  was  so 
severe  that  even  the  king  and  Obadiah  his  steward  went 
out  to  search  for  water.  Ahab  went  one  way  by  himself, 
and  Obadiah  went  another  way  by  himself.  Suddenly, 
as  Obadiah  was  in  the  way,  Elijah  met  him,  and  the 
steward  recognized  the  prophet,  and  bowed  down  before 
him  to  the  earth.  ''  Go,"  said  the  prophet,  "  tell  thy  lord, 
'Behold,  Elijah  is  here!'"  ''But,"  said  the  steward, 
"  suppose  I  go,  and  as  soon  as  I  am  gone  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  shall  carry  thee  whither  I  know  not,  and  so  when  I  come 
and  tell  Ahab,  and  he  cannot  find  thee,  he  shall  slay  me." 
Elijah  answered,  "  As  the  Lord  of  hosts  liveth,  before  whom 
I  stand,  I  will  surely  show  myself  unto  him  this  day." 

The  result  of  this  meeting  was  the  Assembly  of  the 
Great  Decision.  To  the  heights  of  Mount  Carmel,  beside 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  Ahab  gathered  all  the  prophets 
of  Baal,  and  all  the  people.  Elijah  alone  stood  for  the  Lord. 
It  was  agreed  that  an  appeal  should  be  made  first  to  Baal, 


THE   PROPHET   ELIJAH  121 

then  to  Jehovah,  for  a  reply  by  fire.  Baal's  prophets 
made  an  altar,  and  sacrificed  a  bullock  on  it,  and  prayed 
for  fire.  They  prayed,  and  cried  aloud,  and  cut  themselves 
with  knives  after  their  manner,  till  midday  was  past, 
and  the  hour  of  the  evening  sacrifice  came,  but  there  was 
neither  voice,  nor  any  to  answer,  nor  any  that  regarded. 
Then  Elijah  took  twelve  stones  and  repaired  an  ancient 
altar  of  the  Lord  that  was  broken  down.  He  sacrificed 
a  bullock,  and  had  water  poured  over  the  sacrifice,  and  he 
prayed  for  fire.  "  Hear  me,  O  Lord,  hear  me,"  he  cried, 
'^  that  this  people  may  know  that  thou  art  the  Lord  God." 
And  the  fire  of  the  Lord  came  down.  And  when  the  people 
saw  it,  they  fell  upon  their  faces  and  cried,  "  The  Lord, 
he  is  the  God !     The  Lord,  he  is  the  God." 

Then  was  the  long  drought  ended.  Elijah,  with  his 
servant,  went  to  the  top  of  Carmel,  and  while  he  prayed 
he  bade  his  servant  watch  the  sky  and  the  sea.  And 
there  arose,  at  last,  a  little  cloud  out  of  the  sea,  like  a 
man's  hand.  Then  Elijah  went  to  Ahab.  ^'  Prepare 
thy  chariot,"  he  said,  "  and  get  thee  down,  that  the  rain 
stop  thee  not."  And  in  a  little  while,  the  heavens  grew 
black  with  clouds  and  wind,  and  there  was  a  great  rain. 

It  seemed  a  complete  victory  for  the  religion  of  the  Lord, 
but  it  was  immediately  turned  into  defeat.  The  truth 
makes  its  way,  not  by  dramatic  events,  not  even  by  calling 
fire  from  heaven,  but  by  the  slow  change  of  the  hearts  of 
men.  The  very  next  day  Jezebel  was  looking  for  Elijah 
to  kill  him,  and  Elijah  was  fleeing  for  his  life,  over  the 
hills  and  plains  to  Sinai  (=  Horeb),  defeated,  disheart- 
ened, ready  to  die.  There  he  sought  the  help  of  the  God 
who  had  blessed  Moses.  As  he  hid  in  a  cave,  there  came  a 
strong  wind,  and  then  an  earthquake,  and  then  a  fire ;  at 


122  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

last  in  the  soul  of  Elijah  came  a  still,  small  voice;  and 
God  was  in  the  voice.  He  comforted  his  prophet.  He 
told  him  that  things  were  not  so  bad  as  Elijah  thought. 
He  said  that  there  were  seven  thousand  faithful  souls 
in  Israel  of  whom  Elijah  knew  nothing.  He  sent  the 
prophet  out  to  call  to  his  assistance  men  who,  after 
him,  should  carry  on  the  great  contention. 

3.  Naboth's  Vineyard.  /  Kings  21. — The  next  ap- 
pearance of  Elijah  was  in  defence  of  social  justice. 

In  addition  to  his  capital  at  Samaria,  the  king  of  Israel 
had  another  at  Jezreel.  This  was  on  the  northern  slope 
of  Mount  Gilboa,  having  on  the  right  the  Vale  of  Jezreel 
open  to  the  Jordan,  and  on  the  left  the  plain  of  Esdraelon 
sweeping  to  the  Great  Sea.  There  beside  the  palace  of 
Ahab  a  man  named  Naboth  had  a  vineyard;  and  Ahab 
wanted  the  vineyard  to  make  it  a  garden  of  vegetables. 
But  Naboth  would  not  sell  it.  This  refusal  so  vexed 
Ahab  that,  king  and  soldier  though  he  was,  he  went  home 
and  lay  down  upon  his  bed,  and  turned  away  his  face,  and 
would  not  eat.  There  Jezebel  found  him,  and  she  said, 
''  Arise,  and  let  thy  heart  be  merry;  I  will  give  thee  the 
vineyard  of  Naboth." 

Then  Jezebel  hired  men  to  say  that  they  had  heard 
Naboth  curse  the  king.  And  thus  they  said  before  the 
elders  and  the  nobles  of  the  city,  and  sentence  was  there- 
fore passed  on  Naboth,  and  he  was  taken  out  and  stoned  to 
death.  Then  came  Jezebel  to  Ahab,  and  said,  "  Now  you 
may  take  possession  of  the  vineyard,  for  Naboth  is  dead." 

So  Ahab  went  to  take  possession  of  the  vineyard,  and 
two  of  his  captains,  Bidkar  and  Jehu  (II  Kings  9 :  25), 
rode  behind  him.  And  in  the  vineyard  was  Elijah.  Ahab 
said,   "Hast   thou  found   me,   O  mine   enemy?"     And 


THE   PROPHET   ELIJAH  123 

Elijah  answered,  ^'  I  have  found  thee,  because  thou  hast 
done  evil.  And  now  saith  the  Lord,  '  In  the  place  where 
dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth  shall  dogs  lick  thy  blood, 
even  thine ;  and  dogs  shall  eat  the  blood  of  Jezebel  by 
the  rampart  of  Jezreel.'  "  And  the  king  confessed  that  he 
had  done  evil.  He  rent  his  clothes,  and  put  on  sackcloth 
and  fasted.  It  is  one  of  the  great  scenes  of  history,  like 
the  repelling  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  by  St.  Ambrose 
from  the  church  gate  in  Milan. 


XX 

THE   TWO  JEHORAMS 

JuDAH  Israel 

Jehoram  851-843  Ahaziah  853-852 

Jehoram  852-842 

I.  Ahaziah  of  Israel.  /  Kings  22:40,  49,  51-53,  // 
Kings  I .  —  In  the  history  of  the  next  ten  years,  from  Ahab 
and  Jehoshaphat  to  Jehu  and  AthaUah,  the  dates  are 
confused,  and  some  of  the  most  important  events  are 
connected  with  a  king  whose  name  is  not  given ;  nobody 
knows  to  what  reign  they  belong.  After  a  year  or  two  of 
Ahaziah  in  Israel,  there  are  two  Jehorams  side  by  side  in 
the  two  kingdoms.     The  prophet  of  the  period  is  Elisha. 

Ahaziah  proposed  to  Jehoshaphat  to  make  a  partner- 
ship and  build  a  fleet  in  the  eastern  arm  of  the  Red  Sea 
to  go  to  the  gold-fields  of  Ophir.  But  Jehoshaphat, 
who  had  already  lost  one  such  venture,  declined ;  his  ships 
had  been  broken  in  pieces  by  a  great  wind  before  they  had 
put  out  from  port. 

/  Nothing  more  is  known  of  Ahaziah  except  that  he  fell 
down  through  a  lattice  in  the  upper  story  of  his  palace 
in  Samaria,  and  was  severely  injured.  In  his  distress, 
he  sent  messengers  to  the  shrine  of  Baal-zebub.  But  on 
their  way  Elijah  met  them  and  turned  them  back.  ''  Is 
there  no  God  in  Israel,"  he  said,  "  that  ye  go  to  inquire 

124 


THE   TWO  JEHORAMS  125 

of  Baal-zebub?  "  Angry  at  this  interference,  Ahaziah, 
who  was  evidently  of  his  mother's  temper,  sent  a  captain 
with  fifty  men  to  seize  the  prophet.  But  Elijah  called 
down  fire  from  heaven  and  burned  them  up.  And  so  with 
another  fifty.  A  third  company  he  spared,  when  the 
captain  fell  on  his  knees  and  prayed  for  the  life  of  his  men.  / 

This  killing  of  a  hundred  men,  whose  only  offence  was 
their  obedience  to  their  orders,  is  in  contrast  with  Elijah's 
indignation  over  the  murder  of  Naboth.  Even  more 
strange  is  the  idea  that  God  would  answer  such  a  wicked 
prayer.  When  the  apostles  suggested  that  Jesus  should 
do  what  Elijah  was  said  to  have  done,  he  rebuked  them 
sharply  (Luke  9:  54,  55).  It  is  not  necessary,  however, 
to  read  the  account  as  history.  It  is  based  perhaps  on 
fact,  but  colored  by  imagination,  and  it  probably  appealed 
to  its  early  tellers  and  hearers  on  its  amusing  rather  than 
on  its  tragic  side.  Another  story,  much  more  pleasant, 
tells  how  Elijah  at  the  end  of  his  life  was  carried  up  to 
heaven  in  a  chariot  of  fire  (II  Kings  2).  The  true  splendor 
of  Elijah  is  not  in  such  tales  as  these,  but  in  his  defence 
of  the  religion  of  the  Lord  at  Carmel,  and  in  his  defence 
of  the  rights  of  the  people  at  Naboth's  vineyard. 

2.  The  Two  Jehorams.  —  Ahaziah  did  not  recover 
from  his  accident,  and  his  brother  Jehoram  came  to  the 
throne  of  Israel.  A  few  months  later,  his  brother-in- 
law,  Jehoram,  came  to  the  throne  of  Judah.  The  work  of 
Elijah  seemed  to  have  been  without  effect.  Jezebel,  the 
king's  mother,  in  the  court  of  Israel,  and  her  daughter 
Athaliah,  the  king's  wife  in  the  court  of  Judah  (II  Kings 
8:18),  fostered  the  religion  of  Baal. 

Jehoram  of  Judah  (II  Kings  8:16-24,  II  Chronicles 
21)  began  his  reign  in  the  worst  manner  of  oriental  kings, 


126  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

by  killing  all  his  brothers.  Their  father  had  enriched 
them  with  treasures  and  castles,  of  which  Jehoram  thus 
gained  possession.  But  the  reign  thus  begun  was  one  of 
disaster.  Edom  had  been  subject  to  Judah  since  the  days 
of  David  (II  Samuel  8:  14).  Now  the  Edomites  rose  in 
rebellion,  surrounded  the  array  of  chariots  which  Jehoram 
sent  to  subdue  them  and  drove  them  out,  and  won  their 
independence.  The  Chronicles  say  that  the  Philistines 
and  the  Arabians  broke  into  Judah,  robbed  the  king  of  all 
the  wealth  which  he  had  got  by  the  murder  of  his  brothers, 
and  carried  away  all  his  sons,  except  the  youngest.  The 
Chronicles  add  that  they  carried  away  all  his  wives  (II 
Chronicles  21 :  16,  17).  It  is  only  too  plain,  however, 
by  the  subsequent  history,  that  they  did  not  carry  away 
Athaliah.  A  like  confusion  involves  a  letter  which  Elijah 
is  said  to  have  written  to  the  king,  declaring  that  the  Lord 
would  bring  a  plague  upon  him.  The  plague  is  said  to 
have  come  in  the  form  of  a  dreadful  disease,  of  which  he 
died  (II  Chronicles  21:12-15).  So  evil  and  lamentable 
had  been  his  reign  that  the  people  refused  to  give  him 
honorable  burial  in  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings. 

Jehoram  of  Israel  (II  Kings  3)  induced  Jehoshaphat 
to  join  him  in  invading  Moab.  The  Moabites,  under 
their  king,  Mesha,  had  regained  the  independence  which 
they  lost  at  the  hands  of  Omri.  The  Moabite  stone  de- 
scribes how  they  slew  the  Hebrews  who  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  their  cities.  The  allied  armies  attacked  Moab 
from  the  south  by  the  way  of  Edom,  where  they  nearly 
died  of  thirst.  Out  of  this  strait  they  were  delivered  by 
the  prophet  Elisha,  who  had  them  dig  ditches  in  the  valley 
and  by  his  prayers  brought  down  water  from  the  hills 
and  filled  them.     The  next  day,  the  Moabites,  seeing  the 


THE  TWO  JEHORAMS  127 

sun  shining  red  upon  the  ditches,  thought  they  saw  the 
blood  of  the  invaders  who  had  fallen  to  fighting  one  an- 
other, and  coming  in  disorder  to  the  camp  were  easily 
overthrown  by  Israel  and  Judah.  Then  the  invaders 
spoiled  the  land,  cutting  down  the  trees,  stopping  the 
wells,  and  casting  stones  on  every  good  piece  of  ground, 
until  the  king  of  Moab  in  desperation,  having  failed  with 
seven  hundred  men  to  break  through  to  the  king  of  Edom, 
took  his  eldest  son,  and  offered  him  for  a  burnt  offering  to 
Chemosh  on  the  wall  of  his  besieged  capital.  At  that 
sight,  the  allied  armies  withdrew,  fearing  lest  the  God 
thus  tremendously  invoked  would  destroy  them.  A 
different  account  of  the  war  with  Moab  is  given  by  the 
Chronicler  (II  Chronicles  20).  In  this  account,  Moab 
and  Edom  and  Ammon  attack  Judah,  and  the  invaders 
are  driven  back  without  the  striking  of  a  blow,  by  the 
power  of  prayer. 

3.  The  Prophet  Elisha.  /  Kings  19:  19-21,  //  Kings 
2-8 :  6.  —  The  prophet  Elisha,  who  saved  the  aUies  in  the 
war  against  Moab,  was  the  disciple  and  successor  of  Elijah. 
He  had  been  chosen  on  the  day  when  Elijah  came  down 
from  Sinai,  having  heard  the  still,  small  voice.  He  was 
ploughing  in  his  father's  field  that  day,  driving  twelve  yoke 
of  oxen,  and  Elijah  passing  by  cast  his  mantle  upon  him. 
He  does  not  appear  with  his  master  in  the  story  of  Naboth's 
vineyard,  or  in  the  story  of  the  captains  and  the  fifties; 
but  when  Elijah  went  up  by  a  whirlwind  into  heaven, 
Elisha  was  beside  him.  He  took  up  Elijah's  mantle 
which  had  fallen  from  him,  and  became  a  prophet  in  his 
place. 

Elisha  was  very  different  from  Elijah.  Coming  from 
a  prosperous  farm,  instead  of  appearing  like  Elijah  from 


128  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

the  wild  mountains,  he  ministered  among  the  people, 
and  was  the  friend  of  kings. 

There  was,  indeed,  a  certain  element  of  fierceness  in 
him,  as  there  was  in  Elijah.  One  of  the  many  curious 
stories  which  they  told  about  him  is  that  one  time,  by  the 
gate  of  Bethel,  Httle  children  mocked  him,  crying,  ''  Go 
up,  thou  bald  head !  Go  up,  thou  bald  head  !  "  Where- 
upon he  turned  back  and  cursed  them,  and  immediately 
forty-two  she-bears  came  out  of  the  woods  and  ate  them 
up !  It  was  he  who  suggested  the  spoiling  of  the  land  of 
Moab.  The  most  important  thing  which  he  did  was  to 
stir  up  rebellion  both  in  Syria  and  in  Israel. 

But  for  the  most  part,  Elisha  showed  a  kindly  spirit. 
He  went  about,  like  the  saints  in  the  mediaeval  stories, 
working  pleasant  miracles.  One  time,  they  showed  him 
a  spring  whose  water  made  the  ground  barren  instead  of 
fruitful,  and  he  put  salt  into  it  and  changed  it.  Another 
time,  as  they  were  getting  dinner,  making  pottage  in  a 
great  pot,  one  of  them  put  in  with  the  herbs  the  gourds  of 
a  wild  vine,  and  the  gourds  poisoned  the  pottage,  till  the 
prophet  poured  in  meal  and  made  it  right.  They  were 
building  a  house,  cutting  the  beams  beside  the  river  Jordan, 
and  an  axe-head  fell  into  the  water.  "  Alas,  master !  " 
cried  the  man  who  had  lost  it,  "  alas !  for  it  was  bor- 
rowed." And  they  showed  Elisha  where  it  fell,  and  he 
cut  down  a  stick  and  put  it  in  the  river,  and  the  iron  came 
up.  He  fed  a  hundred  men  with  twenty  loaves  of  bread, 
so  that  each  one  had  enough.  A  poor  woman  came  to  him, 
whose  husband  was  dead  and  whose  two  sons  were  about 
to  be  sold  to  pay  the  family  debts,  and  who  had  nothing 
left  except  a  single  pot  of  oil.  EHsha  said,  "  Go  borrow 
all  the  empty  vessels  of  the  neighborhood,  all  the  pots  and 


THE   TWO   JEHORAMS  129 

pans  and  pails  and  pitchers  " ;  and  when  she  had  done  so, 
"  Now,"  he  said,  "  pour  oil  into  them."  And  out  of  her 
one  little  cruse  of  oil  she  poured  and  poured  until  all  were 
filled.  Like  Elijah,  he  restored  to  life  the  son  of  the 
woman  with  whom  he  lodged.  The  lad  had  fallen  sick 
in  the  field  among  the  reapers,  crying  "  My  head !  My 
head !  "  and  the  life  had  gone  out  of  him.  Elisha  prayed, 
and  lay  upon  the  child,  and  the  child  sneezed  seven  times 
and  opened  his  eyes. 

Three  of  the  stories  of  Elisha  are  connected  with  the 
Syrians. 

One  of  the  captives  seized  in  a  raid  of  the  Syrians  upon 
the  land  of  Israel  was  a  little  maid.  She  was  taken  into 
the  household  of  Naaman,  commander  of  the  Syrian  army, 
and  she  waited  on  Naaman's  wife.  Then  Naaman  was 
seized  with  leprosy,  and  the  little  maid  said  that  Elisha 
could  make  him  well.  So  Naaman  came  with  his  horses 
and  his  chariot  to  Elisha,  and  after  some  reluctance  did 
as  the  prophet  told  him,  and  bathed  in  the  Jordan  seven 
times,  and  was  cured.  Being  thus  blessed  by  the  prophet 
of  the  God  of  Israel,  Naaman  chose  Jehovah  for  his  god ; 
but  the  god  of  Syria  was  Rimmon.  "  What  shall  I  do?  " 
he  said ;  "I  must  go  with  the  king,  my  master,  into  the 
temple  of  Rimmon,  and  bow  when  the  king  bows."  Elisha 
answered,  "  Go  in  peace." 

One  time,  in  the  midst  of  an  undated  war,  the  king  of 
Syria  was  told  that  every  ambush  which  he  made  was  dis- 
closed to  the  king  of  Israel  by  Elisha  the  prophet,  and 
he  sent  to  seize  Elisha.  The  prophet  was  surrounded; 
horses  and  chariots  of  Syria  were  on  every  side.  "  Alas, 
my  master!"  cried  his  servant,  "What  shall  we  do?" 
And  Elisha  gave  his  servant  a  new  sight,  and  behold  the 

E 


I30  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

mountains  round  about  were  filled  with  the  horses  and 
chariots  of  God.  Then  Elisha  smote  the  Syrians  with 
blindness,  and  offered  to  be  their  guide,  and  when  he 
opened  their  eyes  they  were  in  the  midst  of  Israel,  at  the 
gate  of  Samaria.  '^  Shall  I  smite  them?  "  cried  the  king 
of  Israel,  "  shall  I  smite  them?  "  But  Elisha  forbade  it. 
He  prepared  great  provision  for  them,  and  sent  them  home 
in  safety. 

Again,  in  the  midst  of  another  war  undated,  the  city  of 
Samaria  was  so  besieged  by  the  Syrians  that  mothers  ate 
their  children.  Even  the  life  of  Elisha  was  in  danger 
from  the  great  anger  of  the  king  of  Israel,  who  held  the 
prophet  responsible  for  the  loss  of  the  favor  of  God. 
Elisha  said  that  to-morrow  there  should  be  abundance. 
That  night,  four  lepers  went  over  to  the  camp  of  the  Sy- 
rians, saying  one  to  another,  "  We  can  but  die ;  if  we  stay 
in  the  city  we  shall  die  of  hunger.  Possibly  the  Syrians 
will  give  us  food."  And  they  found  the  camp  deserted. 
A  panic  had  arisen  among  the  Syrians  and  they  had  fled, 
leaving  their  gold  and  silver,  and  their  food. 


XXI 

THE   REVOLUTION  OF  JEHU 

JuDAH  Israel 

Ahaziah  843-842  Jehoram  852-842 

Athaliah  842-836  Jehu  842-814 

Joash  836-796  Jehoahaz  814-797 

I.  Jehu  seizes  the  Crown  of  Israel.  II  Kings  S:  y-i$, 
9-13 :  9.  —  The  word  of  God,  as  Elijah  understood  it 
(I  Kings  19:  15-17),  told  him  to  make  Hazael  king  of 
Syria,  and  Jehu  king  of  Israel.  These  two  revolutions 
were  brought  about  by  Elijah's  successor,  Elisha. 

Elisha  went  to  Damascus,  where  the  king  of  Syria  lay 
sick,  and  Hazael,  one  of  the  officers  of  the  court,  met  the 
prophet  with  a  present  and  a  message  from  the  king. 
"  Ask  him,"  said  the  king,  ''  shall  I  recover  of  this 
disease?  "  Hazael  asked  Elisha,  and  received  this  curious 
answer :  "  You  may  tell  Afw,"  said  Elisha,  "  that  he  may 
recover;  but  let  me  tell  you  that  he  shall  surely  die." 
And  the  prophet  wept.  "  Why  weepeth  my  lord?  " 
said  Hazael.  "  Because,"  replied  Elisha,  "  I  know  the 
evil  that  thou  wilt  do  unto  the  children  of  Israel."  And 
Elisha  said,  "  The  Lord  hath  showed  me  that  thou  shalt 
be  king  over  Syria."  Then  Hazael  returned  to  his 
master,  and  told  him  that  Elisha  had  promised  his  re- 
covery.    And  the  next  day  he  took  a  thick  cloth,  and 

131 


132  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

dipped  it  in  water,  and  spread  it  on  the  king's  face,  and 
the  king  breathed  no  more.     And  Hazael  was  king. 

A  like  thing  EHsha  did  in  Israel.  There  was  war  be- 
tween Israel  and  Syria.  Ramoth  in  Gilead,  when  Ahab 
had  fallen  in  battle,  was  still  besieged.  The  army  was  in 
command  of  a  captain  named  Jehu,  who  had  been  with 
Ahab  at  Naboth's  vineyard.  Elisha  called  one  of  his 
disciples,  and  gave  him  a  box  of  oil,  and  sent  him  to  Ra- 
moth. "  Find  Jehu,"  he  said,  "  take  him  into  an  inner 
room,  pour  this  oil  upon  his  head,  and  say, '  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  I  have  anointed  thee  king  over  Israel.'  Then 
open  the  door,  and  flee."  This  the  disciple  did,  and  im- 
mediately Jehu  mounted  his  chariot  and  drove  furiously 
across  the  plain  toward  Israel. 

Jehoram  of  Israel  had  been  wounded  in  the  war  with 
Syria,  and  had  gone  to  his  palace  at  Jezreel  to  be  healed. 
There  he  was  with  Jezebel  his  mother.  Johoram  of  Judah 
had  been  succeeded  by  his  son  Ahaziah,  and  Ahaziah  had 
come  to  visit  his  uncle  Jehoram  in  his  sickness  (II  Kings 
8:  28,  29).  So  the  king  of  Israel  and  the  king  of  Judah 
were  together  in  the  palace. 

Then  from  the  watch  tower  horses  and  chariots  were 
seen  speeding  along  the  Vale  of  Jezreel  from  the  Jordan, 
and  the  watchman  guessed  from  the  furious  driving  that 
the  foremost  man  was  Jehu.  The  two  kings  went  to  meet 
him,  each  in  his  chariot.  And  Jehu  as  he  came  near  drew 
a  bow  with  his  full  strength  and  smote  Jehoram  between 
the  arms,  and  the  place  where  he  fell  was  by  the  vineyard 
of  Naboth.  As  for  Ahaziah,  he  turned  and  fled,  and  Jehu 
pursued  him,  crying,  "  Smite  him  also  in  the  chariot." 
This  was  done,  and  his  body  was  carried  to  Jerusalem. 

Thus  came  Jehu  to  the  palace,  and  Jezebel  looked  out 


THE   REVOLUTION  OF  JEHU  133 

at  a  window.  Brave  and  proud  to  the  end,  she  had  dressed 
herself  as  for  an  occasion  of  state.  She  called  the  assassin 
*'  Zimri,"  remembering  that  other  murderer  who  had 
killed  a  king.  But  the  palace  attendants,  seeing  how 
things  stood,  threw  her  down,  and  she  died,  and  the 
street  dogs  ate  her  flesh. 

The  connection  of  Elisha  with  this  revolution  suggests 
that  it  was  meant  to  be  a  revolt  not  only  against  the  house 
of  Ahab,  but  against  the  religion  of  Baal  which  the  court 
of  Ahab  encouraged.  It  was  the  final  campaign  in  the 
holy  war  which  Elijah  had  begun. 

The  murder  of  Jehoram  and  Ahaziah  was  followed  by 
a  massacre  of  all  the  royal  family  of  Israel,  and  of  a  num- 
ber of  the  royal  family  of  Judah  who  were  met  on  their  -T 
way  to  visit  their  relatives  at  the  court,  f  Seventy  heads, 
s^t  up  in  baskets  from  Samaria,  were  piled  in  two  heaps 
at  the  gate  of  Jezreel.  But,  even  so,  the  great  blow  was 
not  yet  struck.  Jehu  set  out  in  his  chariot  for  Samaria, 
and  meeting  on  his  way  Jehonadab  the  son  of  Rechab, 
a  hater  of  Baal,  he  took  him  up  into  his  chariot.  "  Come 
with  me,"  he  said,  "  and  see  my  zeal  for  the  Lord."  So 
they  came  to  Samaria.  And  Jehu  pretended  to  be  on  the 
side  of  Baal.  "  Ahab,"  he  said,  "  served  Baal  a  little, 
but  Jehu  shall  serve  him  much."  So  he  assembled  all 
the  worshippers  of  Baal  as  for  a  splendid  sacrifice;  the 
temple  was  filled  from  one  end  to  another.  Out  of  the 
vestry  were  brought  forth  vestments,  and  the  men  were 
dressed  in  the  gorgeous  cloaks  of  their  religion.  Jehu 
himself  offered  the  sacrifice.  Then  rose  up  eighty  ap- 
pointed men  with  swords,  the  doors  being  secured,  and  fell 
upon  the  multitude  of  unarmed  worshippers  till  they  were 
all  destroyed.     And  the  image  of  Baal  was  broken  down, 


134  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

and  the  temple  of  Baal  was  laid  in  ruins.  Thus  with 
treachery  and  blood  the  old  religion  of  the  land  was  ended. 

2.  Athaliah  seizes  the  Crown  of  Judah.  //  Kings  ii ; 
//  Chronicles  22:10-23:21. — The  uprising  of  Jehu, 
which  destroyed  the  religion  of  Baal  in  the  kingdom  of 
Israel,  served  for  a  time  to  strengthen  it  in  the  kingdom 
of  Judah.  When  the  queen-mother,  Athaliah,  saw  that 
her  son  was  dead,  she  took  the  throne  herself.  She  com- 
pleted the  destruction  of  the  royal  family,  which  Jehu 
had  begun,  that  she  might  have  no  rival.  Whoever  had 
been  spared  when  the  Philistines  and  Arabians  had  in- 
vaded the  land,  she  put  to  death,  except  her  youngest 
grandson.  The  princess  Jehosheba,  a  sister  of  the  dead 
king  Ahaziah,  the  wife  of  Jehoiada  the  priest,  hid  her  little 
nephew  when  the  king's  sons  were  slain.  Jehoash  was 
only  a  year  old. 

So  Athaliah  was  the  queen,  and  the  religion  of  Baal 
prospered  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah  beside  the  religion  of 
Jehovah.  This  continued  for  six  years.  But  in  the 
seventh  year,  Jehoiada  conferred  with  the  faithful  captains 
and  showed  them  the  king's  son.  And  on  a  sabbath  day, 
when  all  the  plans  were  made,  he  brought  the  little  king 
into  the  temple,  set  armed  guards  about  him,  showed  him 
to  all  the  people,  and  put  the  crown  upon  him.  And  they 
made  him  king,  and  anointed  him,  and  they  clapped 
their  hands,  and  shouted,  "  God  save  the  king!  "  And 
Athaliah  heard  the  shouting  and  came  to  see  what  it  was 
about,  and  there  by  the  pillar,  in  the  king's  place,  stood 
the  little  king  with  the  crown  upon  his  head,  and  the  armed 
guards  beside  him,  and  the  trumpeters  were  blowing  with 
their  trumpets.  Then  Athaliah  cried,  ''Treason  !  Treason  I" 
but  there  was  none  to  help  her.     So  she  died  and  Jehoash 


THE   REVOLUTION  OF   JEHU  135 

reigned.  And  the  temple  of  Baal  was  torn  down,  and  his 
altars  and  his  images  "  broke  they  in  pieces  thoroughly." 

Jehoash  began  his  reign  under  the  protection  and  guid- 
ance of  the  priest  Jehoiada.  It  is  remembered  of  him  that 
he  repaired  the  temple,  which  had  been  neglected  while 
Athaliah  worshipped  Baal.  Jehoiada  took  a  chest  and 
bored  a  hole  in  the  lid  of  it,  and  set  it  by  the  altar  which 
was  before  the  temple  door,  and  into  this  the  people  put 
their  offerings,  and  out  of  these  offerings  the  masons  and 
the  carpenters  were  paid.  The  Chronicler  says  (II  Chron- 
icles 24  :  17-22)  that  after  Jehoiada's  death  Joash  behaved 
badly,  and  when  Zechariah,  Jehoiada's  son,  reproved  him 
he  had  him  stoned  to  death  in  the  court  of  the  temple. 
Joash  himself  died  at  last  at  the  hands  of  assassins. 

3.  The  War  with  Syria.  II  Kings  10:32-36;  11 :  17, 
18 ;  13  :  1-9.  —  Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  was  in  the  meantime 
justifying  all  the  fears  of  Elisha. 

It  was  against  him  that  Jehu  was  fighting  at  Ramoth 
when  he  was  anointed  king  of  Israel.  It  may  have  been 
in  defence  against  him  that  Jehu  paid  tribute  to  the  king 
of  Assyria,  Shalmaneser  II,  to  buy  the  help  of  the  As- 
syrian arms.  Assyrian  inscriptions  say  that  Jehu  paid 
"  silver,  gold,  a  golden  bowl,  a  golden  goblet,  a  golden 
ladle,  golden  pitchers,  bars  of  lead,  a  sceptre  for  the  hand 
of  the  king,  and  spear  shafts."  That  was  in  842,  and  in 
that  same  year  Shalmaneser  attacked  Damascus.  He 
defeated  Hazael,  who  lost  over  a  thousand  chariots,  and 
sixteen  thousand  men,  but  held  his  capital  against  the 
siege.  Nothing  daunted,  Hazael  came  out  again  and  took 
away  from  Israel  all  the  lands  which  lay  east  of  the  Jor- 
dan. More  than  fifty  years  after,  when  the  prophet 
Amos  wrote  (Amos  i :  3),  it  was  remembered  how  the  Syr- 


136  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

ians  threshed  Gilead  with  threshing  instruments  of  iron. 
Jehoahaz  the  son  of  Jehu  had  but  ten  thousand  footmen 
left  in  his  army,  and  fifty  horsemen  and  ten  chariots. 

Hazael  carried  the  arms  of  Syria  even  into  Philistia, 
where  he  besieged  Gath  and  took  it.  In  the  reign  of 
Jehoash  he  appeared  with  his  victorious  host  before  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem.  And  Jehoash  took  all  the  treasures 
of  the  temple,  and  all  the  gold  that  he  had,  and  gave  it  to 
Hazael  that  he  might  go  away  and  spare  the  city. 

Thus  Hazael  became  the  mightiest  of  the  rulers  of 
Damascus.  Under  his  strong  hand  the  whole  country, 
north  and  south,  was  subject  to  Syria.  He  was  master  of 
Judah  under  Jehoash  and  of  Israel  under  Jehoahaz. 


XXII 
THE  LONG  PEACE 

JuDAH  Israel 

Amaziah  796-782  Jehoash  jg'j-'jSi 

Uzziah  782-735  Jeroboam  II  781-740 

I.  Amaziah  and  Jehoash.  //  Kings  13:10-14:20, 
//  Chronicles  25.  —  In  the  midst  of  the  sovereignty  of 
Hazael  over  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah,  "  the 
Lord  gave  Israel  a  saviour,  so  that  they  went  out  from 
under  the  hand  of  the  Syrians."  This  saviour  was  the 
king  of  Assyria. 

The  prophet  Elisha  was  on  his  deathbed  when  he  was 
visited  by  Jehoash  of  Israel,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Jehoahaz.  "  My  father,  my  father,"  cried  the  king, 
''  the  chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof !  "  It 
seemed  to  him  that  in  the  passing  of  Elisha  the  last  hope 
of  the  nation  was  disappearing.  The  prophet  was  like 
an  army  with  banners;  he  was  the  chariot  of  Israel  and 
its  horsemen.  Elisha  said,  "  Take  bow  and  arrows." 
And  when  he  took  them  the  dying  man  put  his  hands  on 
the  king's  hands.  "  Shoot,"  he  said,  "  out  of  the  window 
eastward."  So  he  shot,  three  times.  He  shot,  as  Elisha 
said,  "  the  arrow  of  the  Lord's  deliverance,  and  the  arrow 
of  deliverance  from  Syria."  It  was  a  promise  of  three  vic- 
tories. 

These  victories  were  won,  and  the  cities  which  Syria 
137 


138  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

had  taken  from  Israel  were  recovered  in  the  midst  of  the 
disorder  of  a  great  invasion.  The  inscriptions  say  that 
the  Assyrians  marched  again  (797)  to  the  Great  Sea. 
In  Tyre  and  Sidon,  in  "  the  land  of  Omri "  (=  Israel),  in 
Philistia,  in  Edom,  they  reduced  the  people  to  subjection 
and  laid  them  under  tribute.  But  the  weight  of  the  in- 
vasion fell  most  heavily  upon  Syria.  The  king  was  shut 
up  in  Damascus.  Dread  of  Asshur  (the  god  of  Assyrians) 
struck  him  to  the  earth.  "  He  clasped  my  feet,"  says  the 
Assyrian  king,  "  and  gave  himself  up.  His  countless 
wealth  and  goods  I  seized  in  Damascus." 

The  immediate  effect  of  this  overthrow  was  to  deliver 
the  two  kingdoms  from  the  fear  of  Syria. 

Thereupon  Amaziah,  king  of  Judah,  successfully  in- 
vaded Edom.  It  is  remembered  in  praise  of  Amaziah 
that  while  he  put  to  death  the  men  who  had  killed  his 
father,  he  spared  their  sons.  Up  to  this  time  common 
opinion  had  regarded  a  man's  family  as  a  part  of  the  man ; 
if  he  offended,  all  must  share  his  punishment.  Now,  for 
the  moment,  the  rights  of  the  individual  were  recognized. 
/  Meanwhile,  Jehoash,  king  of  Israel,  had  been  winning 
victories  which  Elisha  had  predicted  against  the  enfeebled 
Syrians. 

Then  the  kings,  made  bold  by  these  successes,  turned 
their  arms  against  each  other.  Amaziah  challenged 
Jehoash.  Jehoash  replied  with  the  fable  of  the  Thistle 
and  the  Cedar.  "  The  thistle  that  was  in  Lebanon  sent 
to  the  cedar  that  was  in  Lebanon,  saying,  ^  Give  thy 
daughter  to  my  son  to  wife  ' :  and  there  passed  by  a  wild 
beast  that  was  in  Lebanon,  and  trode  down  the  thistle." 
And  he  added  a  fair  warning.  "  Thou  hast  indeed  smitten 
Edom,  and  thine  heart  hath  lifted  thee  up :  glory  of  this, 


THE  LONG   PEACE  139 

and  tarry  at  home;  for  why  shouldest  thou  meddle  to 
thy  hurt  ?  "  But  Amaziah  did  not  heed  the  warning.  He 
went  to  war  with  Jehoash,  and  was  so  seriously  defeated 
that  the  men  of  Israel  came  and  broke  down  the  wall  of 
Jerusalem,  and  carried  away  the  treasures  of  the  palace 
and  the  temple.  Then  a  conspiracy  was  made  against 
Amaziah,  who  had  brought  this  disaster  upon  Judah,  and 
he  was  put  to  death,  like  his  father.     / 

2.  Forty  Prosperous  Years.  //  Kings  14 :  23-15  :  7, 
//  Chronicles  26.  —  Amaziah  of  Judah  was  followed  by 
his  son  Uzziah  (=  Azariah),  and  Jehoash  of  Israel  was 
followed  by  his  son  Jeroboam  II.  These  two  kings  reigned 
side  by  side  in  great  prosperity  for  nearly  forty  years. 
There  had  been  nothing  like  it  in  Hebrew  history  since 
the  days  of  Solomon.  Syria  was  broken  by  the  Assyrian 
invasion,  and  Assyria  was  occupied  with  problems  and 
troubles  at  home.     There  was  no  oppressor. 

Uzziah  restored  to  Judah  the  important  port  of  Elath 
on  the  Red  Sea,  the  gate  of  commerce  with  the  far  east. 
He  conquered  the  Philistines  and  the  Arabians  who  had 
overrun  the  country  in  the  days  of  Jehoram.  Ammon 
paid  him  tribute.  He  rebuilt  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  which 
Jehoash  of  Israel  had  broken  down,  and  made  towers 
at  the  gates.  He  encouraged  agriculture,  having  husband- 
men and  vine  dressers  in  the  mountains  and  in  the  fruitful 
fields.  He  encouraged  the  raising  of  cattle,  building  towers 
in  the  wilderness  for  the  protection  of  the  herdsmen,  and 
hewing  out  cisterns.  He  equipped  his  army  with  shields, 
and  spears,  and  helmets,  and  coats  of  mail,  and  bows,  and 
stones  for  slinging.  In  his  time  cunning  men  invented 
engines  to  shoot  arrows  and  great  stones  from  the  battle- 
ments. 


I40  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

Jeroboam  II  is  credited  in  the  history  with  wars 
which  added  Hamath  and  Damascus  to  Israel.  This 
wide  domain  was  predicted  by  a  Galilean  prophet,  Jonah 
of  Gath-hepher  near  Nazareth.  The  records  of  this 
great  reign  are  contained  in  a  few  sentences,  but  that 
Jeroboam  was  a  strong  and  wealthy  king,  ruling  a  pros- 
perous people,  is  emphasized  in  the  sermons  of  the  prophet 
Amos. 

3.  The  Beginnings  of  the  Old  Testament.  —  Much 
more  important  than  the  conquests  of  Uzziah  and  of  Jero- 
boam II  is  the  quiet  work,  undated  but  probably  proceeding 
in  these  days  of  peace,  whereby  progress  was  made  in  the 
compilation  of  the  ancient  materials  which  were  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

These  materials  consisted  in  great  part  of  songs,  stories 
and  statutes.  They  had  been  brought  down  from  the 
long  past  in  the  memory  of  the  people. 

The  earliest  public  speech  of  primitive  man  seems  to 
have  been  in  the  form  of  poetry.  What  he  had  to  say, 
he  sang  in  a  rude  chant.  Thus  he  voiced  the  joys  and 
sorrows  of  his  tribe ;  thus  he  gloried  over  their  victories, 
and  lamented  their  defeats.  A  bit  of  such  verse  is  in  the 
Song  of  Lamech  in  Genesis  (4:  23,  24),  and  in  the  Song 
of  the  Well,  in  Numbers  (21:17,  18).  There  is  no  doubt 
as  to  the  contemporary  character  of  the  Song  of  Deborah 
(Judges  5). 

Almost  as  early  as  the  poet,  appears  the  teller  of  stories. 
History  in  its  primitive  form  is  dramatic,  and  consists 
not  only  of  record  but  of  dialogue.  The  heroes  speak. 
The  purpose  is  to  make  the  past  real,  vivid  and  alive. 
The  historian  is  concerned  not  in  the  connected  progress 


THE  LONG   PEACE  141 

of  events,  not  in  dates  or  national  conditions,  but  in  per- 
sons. He  is  interested,  for  example,  not  in  Egypt  but  in 
Joseph ;  not  in  the  wars  of  Jeroboam  II  but  in  the  wonder- 
ful works  of  Elisha. 

Meanwhile,  in  every  advancing  civilization,  alongside 
of  songs  and  stories,  there  will  be  statutes.  Gradually, 
by  the  strength  and  ability  of  rulers  and  judges,  and  by 
the  lessons  of  experience,  a  collection  of  laws  will  come 
into  being.  At  first,  they  will  be  for  the  most  part  in 
memory  only,  in  the  form  of  tribal  customs;  sometimes 
in  groups  of  ten,  one  for  each  finger  of  the  two  hands. 
Then  they  will  be  inscribed  on  stone.  After  a  considerable 
time,  during  which  new  laws  are  added  to  old  through 
many  generations,  they  will  be  collected  into  a  code.  That 
this  stage  of  progress  may  be  a  very  ancient  one,  is  shown 
by  its  appearance  in  the  inscription  which  contains  the 
Code  of  Hammurabi. 

Such  statutes,  songs  and  stories  were  in  the  possession 
of  the  Hebrews.  Some  of  them  were  connected  with 
local  shrines,  such  as  Shechem  and  Bethel  and  Hebron 
and  Beer-sheba.  Some  were  the  common  treasure  of  all 
the  people,  such  as  were  associated  with  Abraham  and 
with  Moses.  Some  belonged  to  the  inheritance  of  the 
Semitic  race,  such  as  the  traditions  of  the  beginning  of 
the  world.  Some  were  written  in  court  chronicles,  being 
accounts  of  men  and  events  with  which  the  writers  were 
themselves  acquainted.  Thus  in  the  court  of  Solomon 
were  two  "  scribes  "  and  a  "  recorder  " ;  references  begin 
to  be  made  to  contemporary  accounts,  —  "  the  rest  of  the 
acts  of  Solomon  and  all  that  he  did  and  his  wisdom,  are 
they  not  written  in  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  Solomon?  " 
(I  Kings  II :  41.)     Presently  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 


142  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

''  book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  "  (I 
Kings  14  :  29)  and  to  the  "  book  of  the  Chronicles  of 
the  Kings  of  Israel  "  (I  Kings  14  :  19).  Such  writings 
described  the  later  heroes,  Samuel,  Saul,  David  and 
Solomon. 

Then  the  kingdom  was  divided,  and  the  statutes,  songs 
and  stories  were  recited  by  fathers  to  children  in  Israel 
and  in  Judah,  with  such  minor  differences  as  would  natu- 
rally arise  under  the  conditions  of  such  a  separation.  Grad- 
ually, they  were  written  down.  First,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Judah,  because  its  situation  afforded  more  quiet  time  for 
such  a  work ;  perhaps  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century 
(c.  850),  in  such  a  reign  as  that  of  Jehoshaphat,  when 
teachers  are  said  to  have  had  the  "  book  of  the  law  " 
with  them  (II  Chronicles  17:9).  Then,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,  perhaps  in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century 
(c.  750),  in  such  a  reign  as  that  of  Jeroboam  11. 

The  existence  of  two  such  collections  was  first  discov- 
ered by  the  appearance  of  such  duplicate  narratives  as 
we  have  already  noticed  in  the  accounts  of  the  Creation, 
and  the  Flood,  of  the  experiences  of  Abraham  in  Egypt, 
and  in  the  story  of  Joseph.  It  was  presently  noticed  that 
in  such  dupUcations  one  account  would  be  found  to  call 
God  Jehovah  (=  "  Lord  '')  and  the  parallel  account  would 
be  found  to  call  Him  Elohim  (=  "  God  ").  It  was  found 
further  that  the  Jehovah  records,  which  scholars  call  /, 
were  so  interested  in  the  southern  tribes  as  to  suggest  their 
compilation  in  Judah,  while  the  Elohim  records,  called 
E.,  were  so  interested  in  the  northern  tribes  as  to  suggest 
their  compilation  in  Israel.  Thus  analysis  finds  a  strand 
of  narrative  beginning  with  the  story  of  the  creation  and 
extending  perhaps  to  the  death  of  David,  and  another 


THE   LONG   PEACE  143 

strand  of  narrative  beginning  with  Abraham  and  extend- 
ing perhaps  to  the  ascension  of  Elijah. 

Later,  after  the  destruction  of  the  northern  kingdom, 
perhaps  in  such  a  reign  as  that  Manasseh^  when  the 
ancient  religion  was  under  persecution  (c.  650),  the  two 
collections  were  combined  in  one.  Thus  J  (c.  850)  -f-  E 
(c.  750)  =  JE  (c.  650). 


XXIII 
AMOS  AND  HOSEA 

JuDAH  Israel 

Uzziah  782-735  Jeroboam  781-740 

Jotham  regetit  to  735  Zechariah,  Shallum 

Menahem,  Pekahiah,  to  735 

Amos 

Hosea 

&.  The  Decline  of  Israel.  II  Kings  15  : 8-30,  II  Chron- 
icles 26:16-27:9. — The  prosperous  reign  of  Uzziah  of 
Judah  was  clouded  toward  the  end  by  the  king's  illness. 
He  became  a  leper,  an  afHiction  which  the  Chronicler 
attributed  to  his  presumption  in  burning  incense  on 
the  altar  in  the  temple.  Thereupon,  his  son  Jotham 
acted  as  regent.  / 

'  Meanwhile,  the  prosperous  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  of 
Israel  was  followed  by  immediate  disaster.  The  kingdom 
suffered  from  the  greed,  the  oppression  and  the  folly  of  its 
rulers,  and  from  repeated  invasions  of  the  Assyrians. 
Zechariah,  the  son  of  Jeroboam,  reigned  six  months,  and 
was  murdered  by  a  man  named  Shallum,  who  became 
king  in  his  place.  Shallum  continued  only  one  month, 
when  he  was  murdered  by  Menahem,  who  took  the 
throne. 

The  obscure  and  scanty  records  of  the  reign  of  Mena- 
hem indicate  that  the  usurper  met  with  opposition.     In 

144 


AMOS   AND   HOSEA  145 

order  that  the  kingdom  might  be  confirmed  in  his  hand, 
he  hired  the  help  of  Tiglath-pileser  (=  Pul),  paying  him 
a  thousand  talents  of  silver.  This  money  he  extorted 
from  all  the  "  mighty  men  of  wealth  "  in  the  land,  making 
each  man  give  fifty  shekels.  The  date  of  this  transaction 
in  the  Assyrian  records  is  738.  When  the  Assyrians  came 
again  in  734,  not  only  Menahem  but  Pekahiah  his  son 
had  finished  their  troubled  reigns.  It  is  therefore  nec- 
essary to  subtract  some  years  from  the  ten  which  are 
ascribed  to  Menahem  in  the  history. 

Thus  in  the  space  of  five  years,  from  the  death  of  Jero- 
boam II  in  740  to  the  murder  of  Pekahiah  in  735,  the  land 
had  four  kings,  three  of  whom  were  assassinated.  The 
social  and  religious  situation  during  this  tragic  time  ap- 
pears in  the  books  of  Amos  and  Hosea.      / 

2.  The  Prophet  Amos.  —  The  sermons  of  Amos  rep- 
resent the  situation  in  the  midst  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam, 
and  reveal  the  evils  which  caused  the  swift  decline  which 
followed. 

The  home  of  Amos  was  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  in 
Tekoa,  twelve  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  and  twenty-two 
miles  south  of  the  shrine  of  Bethel  where  he  preached 
his  sermons.  The  village  had  already  entered  into  the 
history  as  the  residence  of  a  wise  woman  whom  Joab  sent 
to  David  (II  Samuel  14:  1-21).  Amos  was  a  herdsman, 
and  a  gatherer  of  the  sycamore  fruit  out  of  which  the 
poorer  people  made  bread  (Amos  i :  i,  7  :  14).  He  had  no 
connection  with  those  religious  societies  called  "  prophets  " 
and  "  sons  of  prophets,"  of  which  we  read  in  the 
lives  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  (II  Kings  2:3,  5 ;  see  also  I 
Kings  22:6,  I  Samuel  10:10).  Living  though  he  did 
among  his  flocks,  Amos  knew  how  to   write,  at   a   time 


146  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

when  that  was  a  somewhat  rare  accomplishment,  and 
was  master  of  a  picturesque  and  vigorous  style.  He  was 
acquainted  also  with  the  great  world.  He  knew  what  was 
taking  place  in  Damascus,  in  Gaza  and  in  Tyre,  and  in 
the  courts  of  Edom,  of  Moab  and  of  Ammon  (Amos 
1-2:3).  This  he  may  have  learned  from  passing  cara- 
vans, or  from  his  own  journeys  to  sell  the  wool  of  his 
flock.  He  was  especially  concerned  about  the  kind  of 
life  which  he  saw  or  heard  of  in  Israel. 

Amos  was  much  impressed  by  the  wealth  and  luxury  of 
the  kingdom  of  Jeroboam.  He  saw  that  the  rich  had 
summer  houses  as  well  as  winter  houses,  built  of  hewn 
stone,  adorned  with  ivory,  surrounded  by  gardens.  He 
observed  their  feasts,  at  which  they  reclined  on  soft 
cushions  covered  with  silk,  and  ate  lambs  out  of  the  flock 
and  calves  out  of  the  midst  of  the  stall,  singing  idle  songs 
to  the  sound  of  the  viol,  and  drinking  wine  in  bowls 
(3:  12,  15,  6:4-6). 

Amos  found  the  people  devoted  to  the  religion  of  Jehovah. 
Pilgrims  brought  their  sacrifices  to  the  shrines  on  the  first 
day  of  their  arrival,  and  on  the  third  day  paid  their  tithes. 
The  sacred  feasts  and  solemn  assemblies  were  observed 
with  singing  and  instrumental  music  (4:4;  5  :  21-23). 

Amos  perceived  that  along  with  this  pleasant  living, 
and  these  carefully  attended  services,  went  greed,  and 
dishonesty  and  cruelty.  The  rich  stored  up  violence  and 
robbery  in  their  palaces.  Even  the  women  crushed  the 
needy.  By  trampHng  on  the  poor,  and  taking  exactions 
of  wheat,  by  afflicting  the  just  and  taking  bribes,  they  had 
increased  their  fortunes.  The  merchants  were  impatient 
to  have  the  Sabbath  over  that  they  might  sell  their  corn 
and  wheat,  and  in  the  selling  they  cheated  their  customers 


AMOS  AND   HOSEA  147 

with  false  balances,  making  the  measure  small  and  the 
weight  great  (3  :  10 ;  4:1;   5:11,12;  8 :  4-6). 

At  last,  in  Bethel,  in  the  face  of  the  people  who  were 
doing  these  things,  Amos  publicly  denounced  them.  He 
stood  beside  the  palace  and  the  shrine,  a  shepherd  prophet, 
and  declared  that  God  had  sent  him  to  rebuke  and  warn 
the  kingdom  of  Jeroboam.  He  reminded  them  how  God 
had  blessed  them  in  the  past  (2:9,  10),  and  how  He  had 
endeavored  to  recall  them  from  their  evil  ways  by  means  of 
famine  and  pestilence  (4:  6-1 1).  Because  they  had  paid 
no  heed,  God,  he  said,  hated  and  despised  their  feast  days 
and  all  the  ceremonies  of  their  religion  (5 :  21-24).  Be- 
cause they  had  gone  on  in  their  selfishness  and  injustice,  God, 
he  said,  would  bring  sore  punishment  upon  them.  Amos 
did  not  speak  the  name  of  Assyria,  but  his  meaning  was 
plain.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  '  An  adversary  there 
shall  be  even  round  about  thy  land;  and  he  shall  bring 
down  thy  strength  from  thee,  and  thy  palaces  shall  be 
spoiled  '"(3:11).  "I  will  raise  up  against  you  a  nation," 
saith  the  Lord  the  God  of  Hosts,  "  and  they  shall  afflict 
you  from  the  entering  in  of  Hamath  unto  the  brook  of  the 
Arabah,"  —  over  all  that  wide  domain  which  the  might 
of  Jeroboam  had  subdued  (6 :  14).  "I  will  cause  you  to 
go  into  captivity  beyond  Damascus,"  saith  the  Lord 
(5:27).  "  The  high  places  of  Isaac  shall  be  desolate,  and 
the  sanctuaries  of  Israel  shall  be  laid  waste ;  and  I  will  rise 
against  the  house  of  Jeroboam  with  the  sword  "  (7:9). 

Then  came  the  priest  of  Bethel,  Amaziah,  and  stopped 
the  prophet.  "  Get  you  away,"  he  cried,  "  into  the  land 
of  Judah  and  prophesy  there.  Speak  these  things  no  more 
in  Bethel,  for  this  is  the  place  of  the  king's  sanctuary  and 
of  the  king's  palace  "  (7  :  12,  13).    It  is  one  of  the  great 


148  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

scenes  of  history.  The  man  of  the  established  order,  in 
alliance  with  political  power  and  private  wealth,  silenced 
the  man  who  rebuked  the  sins  of  the  great  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

3.  The  Prophet  Hosea.  —  Jeroboam  was  still  upon  the 
throne,  and  the  prophecies  of  Amos  were  still  unfulfilled, 
when  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  a  man  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,  named  Hosea.  This  took  place  under  singular 
circumstances.  Hosea  had  been  deserted  by  his  wife. 
She  had  left  him  and  her  three  children,  and  had  gone  away, 
at  first  with  one  man,  then  with  another.  This  she  had 
done  expecting  happiness,  but  she  had  found  misery. 
Forsaken  by  her  lovers,  and  falling  from  one  distress  to 
another,  she  was  at  last  exposed  in  the  market  place  to  be 
sold  into  slavery.  Here  Hosea  found  her,  and  bought  her. 
He  paid  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  several  bushels  of  barley, 
and  took  her  home  (3  :  1-3). 

Up  to  this  moment,  Hosea  had  preached  in  the  stern 
manner  of  Amos.  His  first-born  son  he  had  named 
Jezreel,  in  memory  of  the  place  where  Jehu,  founder  of  the 
line  of  kings  to  which  Jeroboam  belonged,  had  begun  his 
reign  with  blood.  "  The  Lord  said,  ^  A  little  while,  and  I 
will  avenge  the  blood  of  Jezreel  upon  the  house  of  Jehu, 
and  will  cause  the  kingdom  of  the  house  of  Israel  to  cease.* " 
He  gave  his  daughter  a  name  which  means  ''  not-loved, '* 
and  his  next  son  a  name  which  means  "  not-my-people." 
Thus  Hosea  declared  before  the  death  of  Jeroboam  that 
God  would  have  no  pity  on  the  nation,  and  would  no  longer 
regard  them  as  his  people  (i :  4-9). 

But  when  his  wife  was  taken  back,  and  he  found  that  in 
spite  of  all  her  desertion  and  her  sin  he  loved  her  still,  he 
came  to  realize  that  God  was  of  that  same  mind  toward 


AMOS   AND   HOSEA  149 

deserting  and  sinning  Israel.  Thus  he  added  a  new  note 
to  the  message  of  Amos.  Amos  had  preached  the  in- 
dignation of  God.  Hosea  preached  the  constant  love  of 
God.  He  did  not  mean  by  this  that  God  cared  less 
about  the  wickedness  of  the  people,  or  that  there  was 
any  doubt  about  the  misery  into  which  that  wickedness 
must  bring  them ;  but  behind  it  all  he  saw  the  grief  and 
love  of  God,  and  the  divine  longing  for  the  repentance  of 
his  people. 

Hosea  changed  the  names  which  said  that  God  had 
ceased  to  care  for  Israel.  He  still  declared  that  God 
would  punish  all  their  sins.  "  I  am  unto  thee  as  a  lion,  as 
a  leopard  will  I  watch  by  the  way.  It  is  thy  destruction, 
O  Israel,  that  thou  art  against  me,  against  thy  help  " 
(13  :  7-9).  "They  sow  the  wind,  and  they  shall  reap  the 
whirlwind.  I  will  send  a  fire  upon  his  cities,  and  it  shall 
devour  the  castles  thereof  "  (8  :  6,  7,  14).  But  with  this 
message  of  doom  was  a  continually  recurring  note  of  divine 
sorrow  and  affection. 

In  Hosea's  book,  we  are  brought  into  the  midst  of  the 
five  years  of  assassination  and  disorder.  He  says,  "  there 
is  no  truth,  nor  mercy,  nor  knowledge  of  God  in  the  land. 
There  is  nought  but  swearing  and  breaking  faith,  and  kill- 
ing and  stealing  and  committing  adultery"  (4 :  i,  2).  Even 
the  priests  are  robbers  and  murderers  (6:9),  and  the  princes 
spend  their  time  in  drunkenness.  They  devour  their  rulers, 
all  their  kings  are  fallen  (7:5,  7).  We  perceive  more 
clearly  than  in  the  history  that  the  nation,  conscious  of 
v»reakness,  is  uncertain  whether  to  turn  to  Assyria  or  to 
Egypt.  These  two  great  powers  are  about  to  contend  for 
the  possession  of  the  world.  Israel  lies  between  them. 
The  counsels  of  the  rulers,  and  the  minds  of  the  people, 


I50  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

are  divided.  There  seems  to  be  an  Assyrian  party  and  an 
Egyptian  party  in  the  court.  "  Ephraim  is  like  a  silly 
dove ;  they  call  unto  Egypt,  they  go  unto  Assyria  "  (7  :  11). 
In  either  direction,  Hosea  says,  they  go  away  from  their 
only  hope,  the  hope  which  is  founded  upon  obedience  to 
God. 


XXIV 
THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION 

JUDAH  ISR..EL 

Ahaz  735-715  Pekah  735-734 

Hoshea  734-722 

I.  Israel  and  Syria  against  Judah.  //  Kings  15  :  23- 
29 ;  16,  //  Chronicles  28,  Isaiah  7.  —  In  the  great 
debate  between  the  policy  of  submission  and  the  pohcy 
of  resistance  to  Assyria,  Menahem  and  his  son  Pekahiah 
had  been  on  the  side  of  submission.  But  the  Assyrians 
were  now  engaged  in  campaigns  in  the  east.  It  was  al- 
ways possible  that  such  campaigns  might  be  unsuccessful 
or  might  seriously  weaken  the  Assyrian  power.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Palestinian  provinces  took  the  opportunity  to 
rebel.     The  plan  was  to  unite  against  Assyria. 

For  the  success  of  such  a  plan  it  was  necessary  to  have 
the  cooperation  of  all  the  Palestinian  kings.  But  Ahaz 
of  Judah,  and  probably  Pekahiah  of  Israel,  refused  to  join 
the  union.  Thereupon  Pekahiah  was  conspired  against 
by  Pekah,  one  of  his  captains,  who  came  over  from  Gilead 
with  fifty  men  and  killed  him.  Then  Pekah  in  alliance 
with  Rezin  of  Syria  marched  against  Ahaz. 

The  social  and  religious  situation  in  Judah  under  Ahaz 
is  revealed  in  the  sermons  of  the  prophet  Isaiah.  In  the 
year  when  King  Uzziah  died,  Isaiah,  then  a  young  courtier 
in  Jerusalem,  saw  a  vision  of  the  Lord  enthroned,  and  heard 

151 


152  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

a  voice  calling  him  to  warn  the  people  that  for  their  sins 
the  land  should  be  made  desolate  (Isaiah  6).  The  long 
prosperity  of  Uzziah's  reign  had  made  the  nation  rich, 
but  had  brought  also  the  temptations  which  accompany 
material  success.  The  land  was  full  of  gold  and  silver, 
but  it  was  also  full  of  idols  (Isaiah  2  :  7-22).  "  Jerusalem 
is  ruined,  and  Judah  is  fallen,"  cried  the  prophet,  "  be- 
cause their  tongue  and  their  doings  are  against  the  Lord, 
to  provoke  the  eyes  of  his  glory."  In  Judah  as  in  Israel, 
the  rich  were  beating  the  people  to  pieces,  and  grinding 
the  faces  of  the  poor.  The  women  were  interested  in  their 
gowns  and  ornaments  (Isaiah  3  :  18-23) ;  the  men  were 
idle  and  drunken,  sitting  at  feasts,  listening  to  the  music 
of  the  viol  and  the  harp.  Therefore,  says  the  prophet, 
shall  the  Lord  call  to  the  nations,  and  they  shall  come  with 
speed  swiftly,  whose  arrows  are  sharp  and  all  their  bows 
are  bent,  whose  roar  is  like  the  roar  of  the  sea  (Isaiah  5  :  26- 

30)- 

The  peril  of  the  threatened  invasion  of  Judah  by  the 
allied  armies  of  Israel  and  Syria  moved  the  hearts  of  Ahaz 
and  his  people  as  the  trees  of  the  wood  are  moved  with  the 
wind.  Isaiah  endeavored  to  encourage  the  king.  Meet- 
ing him  at  the  conduit  of  the  upper  pool,  whither  he  had 
gone  to  inspect  the  water  supply  of  the  city  in  the  event 
of  a  siege,  the  prophet  told  him  not  to  be  faint-hearted. 
Pekah  and  Rezin,  he  said,  are  not  fire  but  smoke.  They 
shall  not  hurt  you ;  they  shall  be  destroyed.  Only  wait 
in  faith,  and  see  their  downfall  (Isaiah  7 :  16).  But  Ahaz 
would  not  wait.  At  first,  in  his  fear,  he  fell  into  a  panic 
of  superstition.  Like  the  king  of  Moab  (II  Kings  3:27) 
he  offered  his  son  as  a  burnt  offering  to  the  Lord.  Then, 
as  the  march  of  the  invaders  continued;  he  appealed  to 


THE   ASSYRIAN   INVASION  153 

Assyria.  He  took  the  treasures  of  the  palace  and  the 
temple  and  sent  them  to  Tiglath-pileser. 

The  Assyrian  response  was  immediate.  Within  the 
space  of  a  few  months  both  Syria  and  Israel  were  con- 
quered with  a  thoroughness  from  which  they  never  re- 
covered. Tiglath-pileser  introduced  into  the  history  of 
conquest  a  new  and  effective  poHcy.  His  plan  was  to  re- 
move a  great  part  of  the  leading  people  of  a  conquered 
province,  and  to  settle  strangers  in  their  places.  Thus  he 
not  only  changed  the  character  of  the  subject  kingdom, 
but  destroyed  its  traditions,  and  made  it  over  into  a  new 
nation.  This  he  did  with  Damascus,  transporting  its 
population  into  northern  Assyria.  This  he  did  with  the 
kingdom  of  Israel.  Out  of  Gilead,  east  of  the  Jordan, 
out  of  Galilee,  north  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  he  carried 
away  people  captive.  Only  the  city  of  Samaria  and 
the  surrounding  country  remained  of  the  splendid  domain 
of  Jeroboam.  Pekah  was  put  to  death,  and  Hoshea,  who 
killed  him,  was  made  governor  under  the  king  of  Assyria. 

As  for  Ahaz,  he  hastened  to  do  homage  to  Tiglath- 
pileser  at  Damascus,  whence  he  brought  away  the  pattern 
of  an  Assyrian  altar  which  he  caused  to  be  set  up  in  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem.  Not  only  the  altar  but  the  deface- 
ment of  the  temple  showed  that  the  Assyrians  were  masters 
in  Judah  as  in  Israel.  The  brazen  oxen  which  had  sup- 
ported the  vast  bowl  called  the  "sea,"  Ahaz  was  obliged 
to  give  to  the  king  of  Assyria ;  the  bowl  was  rested  on  a 
pedestal  of  stone. 

2.  The  Fall  of  Samaria.  //  Kings  17  :  1-23,  Isaiah  17. 
—  So  much  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  as  remained  after  the 
Assyrian  invasion  and  deportation  of  734  continued  under 
the  governorship  of  Hoshea  until  727.      Then  Tiglath- 


154  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

pileser  died,  and  Shalmaneser  IV  reigned  in  his  stead. 
Such  a  change  was  commonly  the  signal  for  rebellion  in 
the  restless  empire  of  Assyria,  and  the  Egj^tian  party  in 
the  court  of  Samaria  took  the  occasion  to  urge  a  declara- 
tion of  independence.  There  was  a  new  Pharaoh  in  Egypt 
from  whom  they  hoped  great  things.  To  these  rash  coun- 
sellors Hoshea  listened.  He  refused  to  pay  the  annual 
tribute.  But  before  the  Egyptians  could  assist  him,  down 
came  the  swift  army  of  the  Assyrians.  Hoshea  was 
seized  and  bound  in  prison  and  Samaria  was  besieged. 
Three  years  the  city  on  its  strong  hill  withstood  the  siege, 
and  Shalmaneser  died  before  its  surrender.  It  was  taken 
by  his  successor  Sargon  (722  B.C.). 

Sargon  destroyed  the  city.  Some  of  the  people  he 
transported  to  the  extreme  north  of  his  empire,  to  Habor, 
the  river  of  Gozan ;  others  he  carried  to  the  extreme  east, 
to  the  cities  of  the  Medes.  There  they  settled,  and 
mingled  with  the  people  of  the  land,  and  lost  both  their 
religion  and  their  nationality,  and  were  heard  of  no  more. 
Only  the  peasants  and  the  poorer  people  remained.  And 
Sargon  brought  in  men  who  had  rebelled  against  him  in 
Babylon  and  in  Hamath,  and  made  a  new  population  out 
of  this  mixture  of  strange  races  and  religions. 

3.  "The  God  of  the  Land."  //  Kings  17:  24-41.— 
One  curious  incident  indicates  the  character  of  the 
new  inhabitants.  Being  thus  settled  in  the  desolated  coun- 
try, in  the  midst  of  the  devastation  left  by  the  three-years 
siege,  the  people  from  Babylon,  and  from  Cuthah,  and 
from  Hamath  found  themselves  attacked  by  lions. 
They  accounted  for  this  plague  by  ascribing  it  to  the  anger 
of  the  God  of  the  Land,  whom  they  did  not  know,  and  about 
whose  proper  worship  they  were  ignorant.     In  this  diffi- 


THE   ASSYRIAN   INVASION  155 

culty,  the  king  of  Assyria  sent  back  one  of  the  priests  of 
the  Lord  out  of  the  land  of  exile  to  instruct  them. 

Thereafter,  they  had  a  mixed  religion.  Each  group 
of  newcomers  had  their  own  god,  according  to  the  religion 
of  their  native  land,  and  Nergal  and  Ashima  and  Adram- 
melech  and  other  strange  deities  were  worshipped  at  the 
ancient  shrines,  but  they  all  agreed  to  say  their  prayers 
to  Jehovah  in  addition.  ''  They  feared  the  Lord,  and 
served  their  own  gods."  Thus  the  kingdom  of  Israel  per- 
ished utterly,  and  in  the  place  of  the  Hebrews  the  land  was 
inhabited  by  this  mixed  race  called  Samaritans. 


XXV 

ISAIAH  AND  THE  PERIL  OF  JERUSALEM 

JuDAH  Assyria 

Hezekiah  715-686  Sargon  722-705 

Micah  Sennacherib  705-681 

Isaiah 

I.  The  Prophet  Micah.  Micah  1-3,  Jeremiah  26:  17- 
19.  —  The  fall  of  Samaria  became  a  text  for  the  sermons 
of  Micah.  The  village  of  Moresheth,  in  which  he  lived, 
was  southwest  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  highlands  which  over- 
look the  Philistine  plain.  Micah  could  see  the  Mediterra- 
nean in  the  distance.  Between  the  water  and  the  hills, 
along  the  plain,  ran  that  famous  warpath  of  the  ancient 
world,  along  which  marched  the  armies  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  to  meet  the  armies  of  the  Nile. 

They  come  !  cried  Micah,  the  fierce  soldiers  of  Assyria, 
having  destroyed  Samaria.  They  ruin  all  our  pleasant 
country-side.  The  villages  of  our  neighborhood,  — 
Saphir,  and  Maroth  and  Lachish,  —  they  beat  in  pieces. 
Then  shall  they  march  upon  Jerusalem.  Destruction  is 
come  unto  Judah ;  it  is  come  unto  the  gate  of  my  people, 
even  to  Jerusalem ! 

The  cause  of  this  calamity  was  found  by  Micah  in  the 
sins  of  the  rich.  They  covet  the  fields  of  their  poorer 
neighbors,  and  take  them  away  by  violence ;  women  and 
children  are  cast  out  of  their  pleasant  houses.     They  hate 

156 


ISAIAH  AND   THE   PERIL   OF   JERUSALEM     157 

the  good  and  love  the  evil.  They  pluck  off  the  skin  of 
the  people,  and  their  flesh  from  oft*  their  bones.  They  ab- 
hor judgment  and  pervert  all  equity.  They  build  up 
Zion  with  blood,  and  Jerusalem  with  iniquity. 

For  this  cause,  said  Micah,  the  holy  city  shall  be  utterly 
destroyed.  "Zion  for  your  sake  shall  be  plowed  as  a  field, 
and  Jerusalem  shall  become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of 
the  house  as  the  high  places  of  the  forest." 

The  immediate  result  of  these  bold  words  was  a  reforma- 
tion. Hezekiah  was  now  king  of  Judah.  He  endeavored 
to  undo  the  evil  of  his  father  Ahaz.  What  he  attempted 
in  the  amending  of  the  moral  wrongs  against  which 
Micah  prophesied,  we  are  not  clearly  told.  The  histo- 
rian deals  with  the  changes  which  he  made  in  the  ritual  of 
religion. 

He  began  that  destruction  of  the  local  shrines  which 
was  afterwards  completed  by  Josiah.  At  these  ancient 
altars  on  high  places,  under  sacred  groves,  the  worship  of 
images  had  continued;  there  the  old  idolatries  had  lin- 
gered. Also,  he  cleansed  the  temple  after  the  desecrations 
of  his  father.  Again  the  sacred  lamps  were  lighted,  and 
the  sacrifices  were  offered  upon  the  altar,  with  singing 
and  harps  and  cymbals  (II  Chronicles  29).  Moreover, 
the  feast  of  the  passover,  which  had  not  been  celebrated 
for  a  long  time,  was  observed  in  Jerusalem  with  great  so- 
lemnity. There  had  not  been  the  like  since  the  days  of 
Solomon  (II  Chronicles  30).  In  the  midst  of  these 
reforms,  Hezekiah  took  the  brazen  serpent  which  the  people 
of  Israel  had  brought  with  them  from  the  desert,  from  the 
days  of  Moses,  and  of  which  they  had  made  an  idol,  burn- 
ing incense  before  it,  and  he  broke  it,  saying,  "  It  is  nothing 
but  a  serpent  of  brass  "  (=  Nehushtan). 


158  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

2.   The  Business  of  the  Ambassadors  of  Babylon.     // 

Kings  20,  //  Chronicles  32:24-31,  Isaiah  38,  39. — 
Nevertheless,  the  peril  which  Micah  saw  continued ;  and 
the  particular  sins  which,  according  to  Micah,  invited  the 
peril,  continued  also.  It  was  only  after  tragic  teaching 
that  the  nation  learned  the  lesson  of  the  prophets:  ^'  To 
what  purpose  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  me  ? 
saith  the  Lord.  Wash  you,  make  you  clean,  put  away  the 
evil  of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes. "  It  is  significant 
that  Hezekiah  made  a  pool  and  a  conduit,  and  brought 
water  into  Jerusalem  (II  Kings  20:20).  He  stopped 
the  watercourse  of  Gihon,  and  brought  it  straight  down 
to  the  west  side  of  the  city  (II  Chronicles  32  :  30).  This 
was  in  preparation  for  the  siege  which  was  constantly 
possible. 

In  subjection  to  Assyria,  under  the  hand  of  Sargon,  and 
forced  to  pay  a  heavy  tribute,  Judah,  together  with  the 
other  provinces  of  Palestine,  looked  in  every  direction  for 
relief.  The  fate  of  Israel  had  not  destroyed  the  hope  of 
relief  from  Egypt.  Neither  did  Judah  profit  by  the  ex- 
perience of  Philistia.  Gaza  rebelled,  and  Sargon  came 
and  took  the  city,  and  drove  its  Egyptian  allies  back  to 
Egypt.  Ashdod  rebelled,  and  Sargon  came  and  took  it. 
Still,  the  minds  of  the  men  of  Judah  were  so  turned  toward 
Egypt  that  Isaiah  walked  in  Jerusalem  for  three  years  in 
the  dress  of  a  captive,  to  remind  all  who  saw  him  of  his 
sure  prediction  that  the  Assyrians  would  conquer  Egypt, 
and  lead  away  the  Egyptians  prisoners  (Isaiah  20). 

Meanwhile,  there  arose  a  possibility  of  relief  from  Baby- 
lon. King  Hezekiah  had  been  very  sick,  but  had  been 
recovered  by  the  prayers  of  Isaiah.  He  had  been  assured 
of  longer  life  by  the  sign  of  the  sundial  of  Ahaz,  on  which 


ISAIAH  AND   THE   PERIL  OF   JERUSALEM     159 

the  sun,  at  the  word  of  the  prophet,  went  backward  ten 
degrees,  perhaps  by  the  shadow  of  an  edipse.  In  the  midst 
of  his  recovery,  he  was  visited  by  ambassadors  from  Baby- 
lon. They  came  with  presents  and  a  letter  from  the  king 
of  that  country,  congratulating  him  on  his  return  to 
health.  The  incident  appears  in  the  history  after  the  ac- 
count of  the  great  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Sennacherib,  but 
the  reception  of  these  ambassadors  by  Hezekiah  shows 
that  it  preceded  that  devastating  calamity.  For  Hezekiah 
had  treasures  to  display.  He  showed  his  visitors  the  house 
of  his  precious  things,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  and  the 
spices,  and  the  precious  ointment,  and  all  the  house  of  his 
armor.  These  houses  were  sadly  empty  after  the  visit 
of  Sennacherib. 

But  the  king  of  Babylon,  like  the  king  of  Judah,  was 
in  subjection  to  the  king  of  Assyria.  He  was  preparing 
to  rebel.  His  sending  of  ambassadors  to  Judah  was  prob- 
ably part  of  a  plan  to  secure  an  alliance  of  the  Palestinian 
provinces.  For  this  reason,  Isaiah  rebuked  Hezekiah 
for  his  hospitality.  In  the  far  future  these  Babylonians 
would  be  deadly  foes ;  even  now  their  friendship  was  dan- 
gerous. 

3.  The  Great  Deliverance.  //  Kmgs  18 :  13-19 :  37, 
II  Chronicles  ^2:  1-2  7,,  Isaiah  10:5-34;  36,  37. — The 
death  of  Sargon  was  the  signal  for  a  general  uprising.  The 
Phoenicians  rebelled  under  the  lead  of  Sidon ;  the  Philis- 
tines rebelled  under  the  lead  of  Ekron.  Isaiah,  who  in  the 
time  of  Ahaz  had  set  himself  against  any  dealings  with 
Assyria,  now  set  himself  with  the  same  earnestness  against 
rebellion.  He  was  convinced  that  the  safety  of  Judah 
consisted  in  keeping  out  of  the  contentions  of  the  nations. 
Ahaz  had  involved  the  kingdom  in  these  contentions  by 


i6o  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

becoming  subject  to  Assyria;  the  wisdom  of  Hezekiah 
would  be  shown  in  quiet  submission  to  that  Assyrian  power 
which  he  could  not  successfully  resist. 

This  counsel  all  the  leading  men  of  Jerusalem  resented. 
We  know  as  much  as  Isaiah,  they  said,  concerning  these 
affairs  of  state.  Shall  he  teach  us  ?  They  mocked  him,  as 
one  who  was  forever  saying  the  same  foolish  thing ;  "  pre- 
cept upon  precept,  precept  upon  precept ;  line  upon  line, 
line  upon  line."  The  Hebrew  words  are  sav  la-sav,  sav  la- 
sav,  quav  la-qtiav,  qauv  la-quav,  like  the  refrain  of  an  idle 
song.  Their  plan  was  to  ally  themselves  with  Egypt. 
Isaiah  declared  that  Egypt  could  not  help  them.  "  The 
strength  of  Pharaoh,"  he  said,  "  shall  be  your  shame,  and 
the  trust  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt  your  confusion  "  (Isaiah 
30 :  3).  Your  true  strength,  he  said,  is  in  the  Lord.  Obey 
Him  and  trust  in  Him,  and  He  will  save  you. 

In  spite  of  Isaiah,  Judah  entered  into  the  general 
conspiracy.  Then  Sennacherib,  who  succeeded  Sargon, 
came  with  his  army.  He  subdued  the  Phoenicians;  he 
attacked  the  Philistines.  The  army  of  Egypt,  which  had 
come  to  the  aid  of  Ekron,  he  drove  back.  He  turned  his 
face  toward  Jerusalem.  Isaiah  pictured  to  the  trembling 
people  the  successive  steps  of  his  invincible  advance. 
Now  he  is  come  to  Aiath  (nine  miles  away),  he  is  passed 
to  Migron,  he  pitches  his  camp  at  Geba ;  from  Gibeah 
(three  miles  away)  the  people  flee  before  him ;  at  last  at 
Nob,  within  sight  of  Jerusalem,  he  shakes  his  fist  against 
our  holy  hill.  His  army  covers  the  country  like  a  forest, 
like  the  vast  woods  of  Lebanon. 

In  the  presence  of  this  tremendous  peril,  in  the  midst 
of  the  alarm  of  the  city  as  it  awaited  the  besieger,  Isaiah 
kept  his  courage.     He  maintained  that  the  city  would  be 


ISAIAH  AND   THE   PERIL   OF  JERUSALEM     i6i 

saved.  *'  Behold,"  he  cried,  "  the  Lord,  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
shall  lop  the  bough  with  terror."  He  shall  come  against 
this  forest  as  the  woodsman  with  his  axe  hews  a  great  tree, 
and  it  falls  mightily.  The  king  of  Assyria  was  exalted 
in  his  pride.  He  was  saying,  "  I  have  removed  the  bounds 
of  the  peoples,  and  have  robbed  their  treasures,  and  I  have 
brought  down  as  a  valiant  man  them  that  sit  on  thrones ; 
and  as  one  gathereth  eggs  that  are  forsaken,  have  I 
gathered  all  the  earth;  there  was  none  that  moved  the 
wing,  or  that  opened  the  mouth  or  chirped."  The  Assyr- 
ian inscriptions  show  how  this  pride  was  warranted  by 
the  events.  "  Hezekiah  of  Jerusalem,  who  had  not  sub- 
mitted to  my  yoke,  forty-six  of  his  strong  cities,  fortresses 
and  smaller  towns  round  about  their  border  without  num- 
ber, hewing  about,  and  trampling  down,  I  besieged,  I  took. 
Two  hundred  thousand  people  from  the  midst  of  them  I 
brought  out,  and  I  counted  them  as  spoil.  Himself,  as  in 
a  cage,  in  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  his  royal  city,  I  shut 
up.  Siegeworks  against  him  I  erected,  and  the  exit  of  the 
great  gate  of  his  city  I  blocked  up."  The  first  chapter 
of  the  book  of  Isaiah  may  give  a  picture  of  this  desola- 
tion. "  Your  country  is  desolate,  your  cities  are  burned 
with  fire ;  your  land,  strangers  devour  it  in  your  presence." 
Still,  Isaiah  declared  that  not  an  Assyrian  should  enter 
Jerusalem. 

Hezekiah  paid  a  vast  ransom  for  the  preservation  of  the 
city:  all  the  gold  and  silver  from  those  treasuries  of  the 
palace  and  the  temple  which  had  already  been  emptied 
so  many  times.  He  cut  off  the  gold  from  the  doors  and 
pillars  of  the  temple  to  make  up  the  price.  And  Sen- 
nacherib turned  away.  It  seemed  for  the  moment  as  if  by 
the  payment  of  this  vast  sum  the  city  had  been  saved. 


i62  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

But  the  hope  was  vain.  From  Lachish,  Sennacherib  sent 
an  embassy  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  city. 

The  messengers  said,  "  If  you  trust  in  the  help  of  Egypt, 
Egypt  is  but  a  broken  reed :  if  you  trust  in  the  help  of  the 
Lord  your  God,  have  you  not  broken  down  his  altars  on  all 
the  high  places?  He  is  angry  with  you.  What  gods  of 
any  land  have  been  able  to  resist  the  king  of  Assyria? 
He  has  destroyed  the  nations.'' 

To  this  message,  Hezekiah,  advised  by  Isaiah,  sent  a 
refusal  to  surrender.  This  refusal  came  to  Sennacherib  at 
Libnah  as  he  was  setting  out  to  fight  the  king  of  Egypt, 
who  was  reported  to  be  advancing  against  him.  He  sent 
a  letter  repeating  his  demands,  and  Hezekiah,  again  in  deep 
despair,  spread  the  letter  before  the  Lord,  praying  in  the 
temple.  Again  he  was  encouraged  by  Isaiah.  The  Lord, 
he  said,  will  put  a  hook  in  the  nose  of  Sennacherib,  and  a 
bridle  in  his  mouth,  and  turn  him  back  by  the  way  by 
which  he  came.  I  will  defend  this  city,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  save  it. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass.  By  attack,  by  panic,  by  pesti- 
lence —  the  history  does  not  say  —  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
smote  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians.  The  great  king,  who 
had  come  down  (as  in  Byron's  poem)  "  like  the  wolf  on  the 
fold,"  abandoned  the  campaign,  went  back  to  his  own 
land,  and  was  seen  in  Palestine  no  more. 


XXVI 
THE   GREAT  REFORMATION 

JUDAH  Assyria 

Manasseh  686-641  Esar-haddon  680-668 

Amon  641-639  Ashurbanipal  668-626 

Josiah  639-608 

Zephaniah  j 

Nahum 

I.  Manasseh  the  Apostate.  //  Kings  21,  //  Chron- 
icles T,:^^.  —  The  tremendous  experience  through  which  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  had  passed  must  have  assisted  the  moral 
reforms  which  were  urged  by  Micah  and  Isaiah,  and  the 
ritual  reforms  which  were  urged  by  Hezekiah.  But  people 
hate  to  be  reformed. 

The  destruction  of  the  altars  in  the  shrines  on  the  high 
places  must  have  given  distress  to  many  who  had  wor- 
shipped all  their  lives  in  the  sacred  groves  on  the  con- 
secrated hills.  The  breaking  of  the  brazen  serpent  must 
have  seemed  to  some  an  act  of  sacrilege.  There  may 
have  been  those ,  to  whom  the  invasion  of  Sennacherib 
and  the  misery  of  the  land  seemed  a  punishment  sent  by 
God  in  His  anger  at  the  desecration  of  His  ancient  temples. 
Even  the  religion  of  Baal,  which  had  possessed  the  country 
long  before  the  Hebrews  had  come  in  from  the  deserts 
bringing  the  religion  of  Jehovah,  must  have  survived  all 
the  efforts  of  Jehu  and  Jehoiada  to  suppress  it.     It  con- 

163 


i64  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

tinned  in  concealment,  as  the  religion  of  Greece  and 
Rome  continued  in  spite  of  the  overthrow  of  the  empire 
by  the  barbarians. 

Accordingly,  when  Manesseh  came  to  the  throne,  being 
only  twelve  years  old,  they  who  disliked  the  policy  of 
Hezekiah  asserted  themselves.  Under  their  influence,  the 
young  king  abandoned  the  principles  of  his  father.  He 
built  again  the  high  places  which  his  father  had  destroyed. 
He  restored  the  worship  of  Baal.  He  brought  in  from 
Assyria  the  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  all  the  host 
of  heaven.  Altars  to  these  gods  were  erected  in  the  courts 
of  the  temple ;  an  idol  was  set  up  in  the  holy  place. 
■  That  these  changes  were  not  due  to  political  considera- 
tions only,  appears  in  the  conduct  of  the  king  himself. 
His  mind  was  filled  with  superstition.  He  practised 
soothsaying,  and  divination,  and  sorcery,  and  encouraged 
those  who  dealt  with  ghosts  and  familiar  spirits.  As  the 
years  went  by  he  testified  to  the  genuineness  of  his  own 
convictions  not  only  by  shedding  innocent  blood  in  Jeru- 
salem from  one  end  to  another, — probably  in  a  persecution 
of  the  faithful,  —  but  by  offering  his  own  son  as  a  burnt 
sacrifice. 

There  were  prophets  who  declared  that  for  these  evils 
the  Lord  would  deliver  the  people  into  the  hand  of  their 
enemies,  and  would  wipe  Jerusalem  as  a  man  wipeth  a 
dish,  wiping  it,  and  turning  it  upside  down.  But  nothing 
happened.  Manasseh  is  said  in  the  history  to  have  had 
the  longest  reign  of  any  king  who  ever  sat  on  the  throne 
of  either  Israel  or  Judah ;  and  though  the  fifty-five  years 
which  are  given  him  are  difficult  to  fit  with  other  dates, 
it  is  plain  that  his  reign  reached  a  perplexing  length.  The 
Chronicler  found  a  tradition  that  Manasseh  was  carried 


THE   GREAT  REFORMATION  165 

a  prisoner  to  Assyria,  and  that  he  came  back  a  better  man. 
But  even  so,  the  theory  that  God  punishes  heresy  and  idol- 
atry with  defeat  and  failure  and  spoiling  of  goods  was  dis- 
concerted by  the  prosperity  of  Manasseh.  He  died  in 
peace,  and  his  son  succeeded  him. 

2.  The  Beginning  of  Reaction.  Zephaniah  1-3,  Nahum 
1-3.  —  The  assassination  of  Manasseh 's  son  Amon,  after 
a  reign  of  two  years,  may  mean  that  the  people  had  begun 
to  be  weary  of  a  debased  religion.  Other  conditions  also 
contributed  towards  reaction. 

The  little  king,  Josiah,  being  only  eight  years  old  when 
he  began  to  reign,  was  open  to  the  instruction  of  wise 
advisers,  who  must  have  guided  the  course  of  the  kingdom 
till  he  came  to  years  of  discretion.  The  names  of  Hilkiah 
the  priest,  and  Shaphan  the  scribe,  and  Huldah  the 
prophetess,  which  appear  presently  in  the  records  of 
Josiah's  reign,  may  indicate  some  of  the  formative  influ- 
ences which  made  him  so  different  from  his  father  and 
his  grandfather.  The  lad  was  naturally  of  a  religious  dis- 
position. While  he  was  yet  young  he  began  to  seek  after 
the  God  of  David.  The  Chronicler  says  that  even  at  the 
age  of  twelve  he  undertook  a  reformation.  That  zeal  for 
religion,  that  willingness  to  follow  conviction  no  matter 
where  it  leads,  which  Josiah  had  inherited  from  his  grand- 
father, his  teachers  were  able  to  direct  away  from  supersti- 
tion into  the  old  faith.  The  king  became  a  great  factor 
in  the  religious  change. 

Josiah  and  his  counsellors  were  much  assisted  in  this 
matter  by  two  events  in  the  world  outside,  which  took  place 
when  he  was  about  twenty-one  years  old.  One  of  these 
was  the  invasion  of  the  Scythians,  the  other  was  the  death 
of  the  last  great  king  of  Assyria. 


i66  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

The  Scythian  invasion,  which  is  recorded  by  Herodotus, 
was  probably  the  occasion  of  the  sermons  of  Zephaniah. 
Out  of  the  vast  plains  of  Russia,  through  the  passes  of 
the  Caucasus,  over  Armenia  and  Syria,  these  wild  people 
came  down  along  the  warpath  by  the  sea,  past  Palestine, 
towards  Egypt.  They  were  forerunners  of  the  barbarians 
who  in  Christian  times  overturned  the  Roman  Empire. 

The  Scythians  filled  the  souls  of  men  with  terror.  It 
seemed  as  if  they  were  to  verify  at  last  the  predictions 
of  Micah,  and  to  punish  Judah  for  all  the  idolatries  of  Ma- 
nasseh.  Zephaniah  saw  in  them  the  end  of  the  world. 
Indeed,  that  mediaeval  day-of- judgment  hymn,  the 
Dies  IrcB,  found  its  inspiration  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Zephaniah's  book  :  "I  will  consume  man  and  beast," 
says  the  Lord  by  Zephaniah.  "  I  will  cut  off  man  from  the 
land."  The  Baal  worship  of  Manasseh's  time  is  still 
continuing ;  people  are  saying  their  prayers  to  the  stars 
from  the  housetops  of  Jerusalem.  But  they  shall  be  de- 
stroyed. The  great  day  of  the  Lord  is  near.  Upon  Phi- 
listia,  upon  Moab  and  Ammon,  upon  Egypt,  even  upon 
Assyria,  shall  fall  a  tempest  of  destruction.  "  I  will  also 
stretch  out  mine  hand  upon  Judah,  and  upon  all  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem." 

At  the  same  time  the  death  of  Ashurbanipal,  and  the 
approach  of  the  downfall  of  the  empire  of  Assyria,  called 
out  the  sermons  of  Nahum.  He  sees  from  afar  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Assyrian  capital.  Nineveh  shall  be  over- 
thrown. The  great  gods  whom  Manasseh  had  worshipped 
shall  be  proved  powerless.  Nahum  hears  the  noise  of  the 
rattling  wheels,  and  of  the  prancing  horses,  and  of  the 
jumping  chariots  of  the  besiegers.  Their  shields  are  red, 
their  soldiers  are  in  scarlet,  the  torches  are  flaming,  and  the 


THE    GREAT   REFORMATION  167 

chariots  are  justling  one  against  another  in  the  broad 
ways.  Already,  Nineveh  of  old  is  spoiled,  and  waste,  and 
empty,  and  devoured  with  fire  ! 

3.  The  Book  of  the  Law.  //  Kings  22,  23  :  1-28,  II 
Chronicles  T,/^,  35:1-19,  Deuteronomy  12-26;  28. — The 
Scythians  did  not  invade  Judah,  as  Zephaniah  had  ex- 
pected. Neither  did  the  death  of  Ashurbanipal  realize 
at  once  the  hopes  of  Nahum.  But  the  very  thought  of 
these  impending  events  discredited  the  idolatries  which 
Manasseh  had  encouraged.  The  situation  came  to  a 
crisis  in  the  discovery  of  the  Book  of  the  Law  (621  B.C.). 

In  the  neglected  temple,  which  Josiah  was  cleansing 
and  repairing,  Hilkiah  found  a  book.  He  gave  it  to 
Shaphan  to  read,  and  Shaphan  read  it  to  the  king.  The 
king  read  the  book  with  amazement  and  terror,  and  asked 
the  advice  of  the  prophetess  Huldah.  She  declared  that 
it  was  the  very  word  of  the  Lord  God.  Thereupon  the 
king  assembled  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  both  small  and 
great,  and  read  the  book  to  them.  And  the  result  was  a 
great  and  thorough  reformation. 

It  is  inferred  from  the  reforms  which  were  thus  under- 
taken that  the  book  so  mysteriously  discovered  was  that 
which  is  now  contained  in  the  greater  part  of  Deuteronomy. 
"  These  are  the  statutes  and  the  judgments  which  ye  shall 
observe  to  do  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  God  of  thy  fathers 
giveth  thee  to  possess  it."  Thus  the  book  began  (Deu- 
teronomy 12:1).  ''This  day  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
commanded  thee  to  do  these  statutes  and  judgments; 
that  thou  mayest  be  a  holy  people  with  the  Lord  thy  God." 
Thus  the  book  ended  (Deuteronomy  26:17,  19)  with 
appended  curses  (28). 

On  the  plains  of  Moab,  looking  across  the  Jordan  towards 


i68  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

the  Promised  Land,  Moses  gave  directions  for  the  future. 
Some  of  the  things  which  he  said  were  preserved  in  memory, 
some  may  have  been  preserved  in  manuscript.  As  the 
years  passed,  they  were  collected  and  arranged  and  written 
down.  We  have  already  seen  how  this  work  was  in  prog- 
ress during  the  Long  Peace.  In  the  nature  of  things,  these 
ancient  laws  and  counsels  would  be  not  only  recorded  but 
interpreted.  They  would  be  understood  in  the  light  of 
experience.  They  would  be  applied  to  present  needs. 
Men  would  be  interested  in  them  not  archaeologically  but 
practically.  They  would  desire  to  know  the  mind  of  the 
great  lawgiver  regarding  the  problems  of  their  own  day. 

One  of  the  most  pressing  of  these  problems  was  that  of 
the  local  shrines.  These  were  plainly  sanctioned  in  the 
old  laws  (Exodus  20 :  24).  In  any  place  where  a  man  had 
heard  the  voice  of  God,  he  might  set  up  an  altar,  and  there 
offer  sacrifices.  And  this  had  been  so  understood  by 
Joshua  (Joshua  24:26)  and  by  Samuel  (I  Samuel  1:3, 
11:  15,  14:35)  and  by  most  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah.  The  land  was  filled  with  sanctuaries.  It  had  been 
found,  however,  that  these  sanctuaries  lent  themselves 
to  the  purposes  of  superstition  and  idolatry.  They  were 
the  refuges  of  paganism.  Accordingly,  Hezekiah  had 
endeavored  to  destroy  them.  But  Manasseh  had  rebuilt 
them.  These  two  reigns  made  the  contention  plain  be- 
tween the  sanctioning  of  the  altars  on  the  holy  hilltops  and 
in  the  sacred  groves,  and  the  centralizing  of  all  worship 
at  the  altar  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 

In  this  debate,  what  was  the  mind  of  Moses? 

Now,  in  the  reign  of  Manasseh,  in  the  days  of  persecu- 
tion, when  no  man  could  speak  and  keep  his  life,  an 
unnamed  teacher  wrote  in  a  book  that  which   he  could 


THE   GREAT   REFORMATION  169 

not  preach  in  the  street.  He  wrote  a  summary  of  the 
laws  of  Moses,  especially  as  they  bore  upon  the  evil  days 
in  which  he  lived.  In  the  stern  words  of  Moses  against 
alliance  with  foreign  religions  (Numbers  25:5)  he  found 
him  warning  the  people  against  such  temptations  as  were 
presented  by  the  local  shrines.  And  in  the  summary  of  the 
law,  in  his  account  of  the  last  counsels  of  Moses  according 
to  the  best  knowledge  which  his  studies  gave  him,  he  set 
this  in  the  forefront :  ''Ye  shall  utterly  destroy  all  the 
places  wherein  the  nations  which  ye  shall  possess  served 
their  gods,  upon  the  high  mountains,  and  upon  the  high 
hills,  and  under  every  green  tree.  And  ye  shall  overthrow 
their  altars,  and  break  their  pillars,  and  burn  their  groves 
with  fire  "  (Deuteronomy  12  :  2,  3). 

This  book  the  prophet  laid  up  in  the  house  of  God,  and 
there  Hilkiah  found  it. 

King  Josiah  carried  these  laws  into  immediate  effect. 
He  brought  out  of  the  temple  all  the  vessels  that  had  been 
made  for  Baal  and  burned  them.  He  broke  down  all  the 
sacred  trees  or  poles  which  stood  beside  the  altars.  He 
stopped  the  burning  of  incense  to  Baal,  and  to  the  sun, 
and  to  the  moon,  and  to  the  planets,  and  to  all  the  stars. 
He  took  away  the  horses  and  chariots  which  kings  of  Judah 
had  consecrated  to  the  sun.  He  destroyed  the  temples 
which  Solomon  had  built  in  Jerusalem  for  Ashtoreth  the 
goddess  of  the  Sidonians,  for  Chemosh  the  god  of  the 
Moabites,  and  for  Molech  the  god  of  the  Ammonites. 
Even  at  Bethel,  he  broke  down  the  altar  which  had  been 
made  by  Jeroboam. 

4.  The  Battle  of  Megiddo.  //  Kings  23  :  29,  30,  // 
Chronicles  35  :  20-27.  —  ^^  the  midst  of  these  reforms  came 
the  interruption  of  a  sad  disaster.      The  good  king  had 


lyo  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

ruled  his  people  well.  He  seems  to  have  extended  his 
kingdom,  or  at  least  his  influence,  over  the  old  borders  of 
Israel.  In  the  decline  of  Assyria,  such  an  extension  would 
hardly  be  resisted.  It  may,  indeed,  have  been  arranged 
by  Assyria,  Josiah  ruling  the  two  provinces  under  the 
Assyrian  king  as  overlord.  Then  the  king  of  Egypt, 
Pharaoh  Necho,  seeing  that  the  king  of  Assyria  was  weak, 
marched  up  along  the  Mediterranean  warpath  intending 
to  take  into  his  own  possession  the  whole  land  west  of  the 
Euphrates.  And  Josiah,  loyal  to  his  Assyrian  master,  and 
trusting  in  the  help  of  God,  went  out  to  attack  him  by  the 
way.  Thus  was  fought  the  battle  of  Megiddo.  The  king 
of  Egypt  is  said  to  have  sent  Josiah  a  friendly  warning, 
saying  that  he  was  upon  another  errand,  and  had  no  mind 
nor  time  to  fight  with  Judah.  But  the  warning  was  not 
heeded.  Josiah  disguised  himself,  as  Ahab  had  done,  but 
to  no  purpose.  The  battle  went  against  him,  the  archers 
w^ounded  him,  he  was  carried  in  his  chariot  to  Jerusalem, 
where  he  died. 

To  the  faithful  people,  the  tragedy  seemed  not  only  a 
national  but  a  theological  defeat.  The  wicked  Manasseh 
had  Hved  prosperously  during  a  reign  of  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury, and  had  died  in  peace.  The  belief  that  God  blesses 
the  good  with  material  rewards  was  again  disconcerted. 
The  Book  of  the  Law  said  that  He  did ;  but  the  battle  of 
Megiddo  seemed  to  contradict  it. 


XXVII 
JEREMIAH  AT  THE  COURT  OF  JEHOIAKIM 

JUDAH  ChALDEA 

Jehoahaz  608  Nebuchadnezzar  604-362 

Jehoiakim  608-597 

Uahakkuk 

Jeremiah 

I.  The  Battle  of  Carchemish.  Hahakkuk  i,  2,  Jere- 
miah 46.  —  The  people  mourned  for  Josiah  with  a  bitter 
lamentation.  They  had  reason  to  weep  not  so  much  for 
him  as  for  themselves ;  for  with  the  death  of  Josiah  the 
glory  of  Judah  passed  away. 

Between  two  sons  of  the  dead  king,  the  nation  chose  the 
younger,  Jehoahaz.  He  was  not  acceptable,  however,  to 
Pharaoh  Necho,  whose  victory  had  made  him  ruler  of  the 
country.  Jehoahaz  was  summoned  to  Hamath,  where 
Pharaoh  deposed  him,  bound  him  in  chains,  and  sent  him 
to  Egypt,  after  a  reign  of  three  months.  His  elder  brother, 
whom  Necho  named  Jehoiakim,  was  appointed  in  his  place, 
and  a  heavy  tribute  of  gold  and  silver  was  exacted  from  the 
people. 

Instead  of  taking  this  tribute  out  of  the  treasures  which 
the  prosperity  of  Josiah  had  brought  to  the  king's  house, 
Jehoiakim  collected  it  from  the  people.  He  devoted  his 
energies  to  the  erection  of  a  splendid  palace,  ceiled  with 
cedar  and  painted  with  vermilion  (Jeremiah  22:  10-17). 
Thus  he  returned  to  the  oppressive  policy  of  Solomon. 

171 


172  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

He  builded  his  house  by  unrighteousness ;  he  compelled 
his  subjects  to  labor  without  wages.  His  heart  was  bent 
only  on  his  dishonest  gain,  for  which  he  shed  innocent  blood 
and  ruled  by  violence. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  great  world  without,  two  events  were 
taking  place  which  gave  the  provinces  of  Palestine  a  new 
master.  One  of  these  was  the  fall  of  Nineveh  in  606 ; 
the  other  was  the  decisive  battle  of  Carchemish  in  605. 

As  the  capital  city  of  Assyria,  Nineveh  had  ruled  the 
empire  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  This  included  the 
ancient  kingdom  whose  capital  was  Babylon,  and  whose 
rulers  were  the  Chaldeans.  After  various  unsuccessful 
rebellions,  —  in  one  of  which  they  sent  an  embassy  to 
Hezekiah,  —  the  Chaldeans  won  their  independence. 
Thereupon  they  made  a  combination  with  the  Medes  in 
the  north,  and  the  two  armies  of  the  Chaldeans  and  the 
Medes  besieged  Nineveh,  and  took  it ,  and  destroyed  it. 

Thus  the  city  fell,  as  Nahum  had  predicted  with  exul- 
tation. The  Chaldeans  and  the  Medes  divided  the  Assyr- 
ian empire,  the  Chaldeans  taking  the  lands  west  of  the 
Euphrates.  These  were  the  kingdoms  which  Pharaoh 
Necho  was  just  then  engaged  in  conquering.  They  met, 
therefore,  —  the  Chaldeans  and  the  Egyptians,  —  to  fight 
for  the  mastery  of  that  part  of  the  world :  the  Egyptians 
under  Necho,  the  Chaldeans  under  their  king's  son, 
Nebuchadnezzar  (=  Nebuchadrezzar).  The  battle  was 
fought  at  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates.  The  Egyptians 
were  defeated,  and  fled  across  the  country  and  down  the 
warpath  by  the  sea  towards  Egypt,  with  the  Chaldeans 
after  them.  The  victors  would  have  taken  Eg3^t  itself, 
had  not  the  death  of  the  king  of  Babylon  called  Nebuchad- 
nezzar back  to  secure  his  father's  throne. 


JEREMIAH  AT   COURT   OF   JEHOIAKIM     173 

This  decisive  battle,  which  made  Babylon  the  capital  of 
the  Mediterranean  world,  profoundly  perplexed  the  mind 
of  the  prophet  Habakkuk.  He  had  been  greatly  troubled 
over  the  situation  in  Judah  under  Jehoiakim.  "  O  Lord," 
he  said,  "  how  long  shall  I  cry,  and  thou  wilt  not  hear! 
even  cry  to  thee  of  violence,  and  thou  wilt  not  save!  " 
At  first,  he  found  satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  the 
Chaldeans  would  probably  come,  and  punish  Jehoiakim 
and  Jerusalem  for  all  their  sins.  But  then  he  reflected  that 
in  such  a  punishment  the  whole  nation  might  be  destroyed, 
the  innocent  with  the  guilty.  He  could  not  reconcile  it 
with  the  divine  justice.  On  the  far  horizon  he  saw  the 
Chaldeans  coming,  that  bitter  and  hasty  nation  which  shall 
march  through  the  breadth  of  the  land  to  possess  the 
dwelling  places  that  are  not  theirs.  Their  horses  are 
swifter  than  the  leopards,  and  more  eager  than  the  eagles. 
They  come  all  for  violence,  scoffing  at  kings,  and  deriding 
every  stronghold.  Will  God  permit  this  devastation? 
Will  He  hold  His  peace  when  the  wicked  swalloweth  up 
the  man  that  is  more  righteous  than  he?  The  prophet 
waits  to  see  what  God  will  do,  troubled  and  perplexed,  yet 
confident  that  the  just  shall  live  by  reason  of  their  faith- 
fulness. 

The  battle  of  Carchemish  entered  into  the  vision  of 
another  prophet  in  another  way.  Jeremiah  had  first  been 
called  into  prophetic  activity  by  that  impending  invasion 
of  the  Scythians  which  had  stirred  the  hearts  of  Zephaniah 
and  Nahum.  The  first  six  chapters  of  the  book  which  bears 
his  name  seem  to  belong  for  the  most  part  to  that  time. 
The  reformation  under  Josiah  was  not  yet  begun.  The 
land  was  filled  with  iniquity  and  idolatry.  Even  the 
reformation  did  not  satisfy  the  prophet.     It  is  uncertain 


174  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

what  part  he  had  in  it,  but  the  chapters  from  the  seventh 
to  the  twentieth  show  that  the  condition  of  the  country 
gave  him  no  satisfaction.  There  had  been  some  change  in 
ritual,  but  little  change  in  conduct.  The  battle  of  Car- 
chemish,  however,  brought  Jeremiah  at  once  into  that 
activity  which  occupied  the  rest  of  his  life.  Immediately, 
he  rejoiced  in  the  spirit  of  a  great  triumph  over  the  defeat 
of  Egypt.  "  This  is  the  day  of  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  a  day 
of  vengeance,  that  he  may  avenge  him  of  his  adversaries ; 
for  the  Lord  of  Hosts  hath  a  sacrifice  in  the  north  country 
by  the  river  Euphrates  "  (Jeremiah  46  :  10). 

2.  In  the  Reign  of  Jehoiakim.  //  Kings  23 :  31- 
24 :  7,  //  Chronicles  36 :  1-8,  Jeremiah  7,  26,  19,  20, 
36,  35-  —  Many  of  the  chapters  in  the  collection  of  Jere- 
miah's speeches  are  dated,  and  it  is  plain  by  comparison 
of  dates  that  they  are  not  arranged  in  the  order  of  time. 
(Compare  34:  2  with  36:  i.)  The  dates  show,  however, 
that  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  was  a  time  of  great 
prophetic  activity  in  the  life  of  Jeremiah.  In  that  year, 
which  followed  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  he  became  a 
very  important  and  unpopular  person  in  the  kingdom  of 
Judah. 

One  time  (Jeremiah  7,  26)  he  spoke  in  the  court  of  the 
temple,  and  denounced  the  wickedness  of  the  land.  He 
said  that  the  men  of  Judah  oppressed  the  stranger,  the 
fatherless  and  the  widow,  and  shed  innocent  blood ;  they 
were  stealing,  murdering,  committing  adultery  and  burn- 
ing incense  to  Baal ;  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  women 
were  baking  cakes  to  the  queen  of  heaven;  and  all  this 
they  did  without  fear  because  they  believed  that  no  harm 
could  happen  to  the  Holy  City.  This  was  their  inference 
from  the  saying  of  Isaiah  that  Jerusalem  should  not  fall 


JEREMIAH   AT   COURT  OF   JEHOIAKIM     175 

into  the  hands  of  Sennacherib.  They  believed  that  it  was 
safe  forever.  Jeremiah  said  that  unless  they  changed  their 
lives,  the  Lord  would  destroy  the  city  utterly.  Already, 
another  prophet  who  said  the  same  thing  had  been  put  to 
death.  The  priests  and  the  prophets  proposed  to  kill 
Jeremiah.  It  was  only  by  the  protection  of  influential 
friends  that  he  escaped. 

Another  time  (Jeremiah  19,  20),  declaring  that  the  Lord 
would  bring  such  evil  on  Jerusalem  that  the  ears  of  all  who 
heard  of  it  should  tingle,  he  took  a  potter's  earthen  bottle 
and  threw  it  down  upon  the  stones.  Thus  should  the  city 
be  destroyed.  For  this,  they  put  him  in  the  stocks.  He 
felt  that  all  men  were  against  him. 

By  the  hand  of  his  friend  Baruch  (Jeremiah  36),  Jere- 
miah wrote  out  the  sermons  which  he  had  preached  during 
the  past  twenty  years,  and  Baruch  read  them  to  the  people 
in  the  court  of  the  temple.  One  who  heard  him,  went  and 
told  the  princes,  and  they  sent  for  Baruch.  "  Sit  down 
now,"  they  said,  "  and  read  it  in  our  ears."  When  they 
had  heard  the  sermons,  they  carried  the  writing  to  the 
king.  The  king  sat  in  his  winter  house,  and  there  was  a 
fire  on  the  hearth  burning  before  him.  He  listened  while 
three  or  four  leaves  were  read,  but  it  was  plain  that  he  dis- 
liked it  greatly.  Then  he  took  the  paper  out  of  the  reader's 
hand,  cut  it  into  pieces  with  his  penknife  and  threw  the 
pieces  in  the  fire.     And  he  did  not  change  his  ways. 

It  is  likely  that  Jehoiakim,  owing  his  throne  to  Egypt, 
came  unwillingly  under  the  rule  of  Chaldea.  The  battle 
of  Carchemish  had  resulted,  indeed,  in  the  defeat  of  Egypt, 
but  that  ancient  empire  was  still  unconquered.  Egypt 
was  near  at  hand,  Chaldea  was  far  away,  and  Nebuchad- 
nezzar was  busy  with  the  rebuilding  of  Babylon.     It  is 


170  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

easy,  at  this  distance,  to  see  the  folly  of  the  rebellion  of 
Jehoiakim,  but  at  that  time  the  might  of  Egypt  was  still 
a  part  of  Hebrew  tradition.  The  king  of  Judah  may  easily 
have  trusted  in  the  protection  of  Pharaoh.  Accordingly 
Jehoiakim  rebelled. 

For  the  moment,  Nebuchadnezzar  was  content  to  deal 
with  this  rebellion  by  sending  against  Judah  such  Chal- 
dean regiments  as  were  near  at  hand,  together  with  com- 
panies of  Syrians  and  Moabites  and  Ammonites,  to 
plunder  and  distress  the  country.  Among  those  who  were 
thus  driven  for  safety  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  were 
members  of  the  clan  of  the  Rechabites,  descendants  of 
the  Jonadab  whom  Jehu  took  up  into  his  chariot  as  he 
drove  to  Samaria  to  massacre  the  priests  of  Baal.  These 
men,  who  had  come  down  from  Israel  to  Judah,  repre- 
sented an  ancient  protest  against  all  that  civilization  which 
they  felt  had  involved  the  people  of  God  in  idolatry  and 
sin.  They  had  been  taught  by  their  fathers  to  hate  cities 
and  all  cultivated  lands.  They  continued  in  that  wan- 
dering life  of  the  desert  out  of  which  the  Hebrews  had  come 
to  Canaan.  They  lived  in  tents.  They  were  forbidden  to 
build  houses,  or  to  plant  fields,  or  to  grow  vines,  or  to  drink 
the  wine  which  represented  the  luxury  which  they  de- 
spised. These  rules  they  still  kept  even  when  the  perils 
of  the  open  country  had  driven  them  into  the  walled  town. 
They  maintained  that  simple  life  which  their  father  had 
commanded. 

Before  these  men  (Jeremiah  35)  Jeremiah  set  bowls  of 
wine  and  bade  them  drink,  and  made  their  refusal  the  text 
of  a  sermon.  See,  he  said,  how  the  Rechabites  keep  the 
commandment  of  their  father,  while  you  men  of  Judah 
break  the  commandments  of  your  God.     "Therefore  thus 


JEREMIAH   AT   COURT  OF  JEHOIAKIM     177 

saith  the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  Behold,  I  will  bring  upon 
Judah  and  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  all  the 
evil  that  I  have  pronounced  against  them." 

In  the  midst  of  his  rebellion,  while  the  land  was  ravaged 
by  bands  of  spoilers,  Jehoiakim  died  and  his  eighteen- 
year-old  son  Jehoiachin  came  to  the  throne. 


XXVIII 
THE   CHALDEAN  INVASION 

JUDAH  ChALDEA 

Jehoiachin  579  Nebuchadnezzar  604-562 

Zedekiah  597-586 
Gedaliah  586 

Jeremiah 

Ohadiah 

Lamentations 

I.  The  First  Captivity.  II  Kings  24  :  8-16,  25  :  27^30, 
//  Chronicles  36  :  9,  10,  Jeremiah  24,  29 :  1-14.  —  Hardly 
had  the  young  Jehoiachin  come  to  the  throne  when  Neb- 
uchadnezzar invaded  the  rebellious  land  in  earnest.  He 
besieged  Jerusalem,  and  the  city  immediately  surrendered. 
He  carried  to  Babylon  the  king  and  his  mother,  and  his 
princes  and  the  officers  of  his  court,  and  all  the  men  of 
might,  even  seven  thousand,  and  a  thousand  craftsmen 
and  goldsmiths  and  blacksmiths.  The  land  was  robbed 
of  its  most  valiant  warriors  and  of  its  most  skilful  work- 
men. Also  he  took  away  the  treasures  of  the  Lord's 
house  and  of  the  king's  house ;  the  temple  and  the  palace 
he  left  bare.  The  vessels  of  gold  which  Solomon  had  made, 
and  which  had  survived  so  many  sieges,  he  cut  in  pieces. 
A  remaining  son  of  Josiah,  to  whom  the  conqueror  gave  the 
name  of  Zedekiah,  was  placed  upon  the  broken  throne. 

Such  a  calamity  should  have  convinced  the  people  that 
Jeremiah,  whose  predictions  it  fulfilled,  was  a  true  prophet 

178 


THE   CHALDEAN   INVASION  179 

of  God.  It  should  have  brought  those  who  remained  in 
Judah  to  repent  them  of  their  sins  and  change  their  ways. 
But  it  had  none  of  these  effects.  Jeremiah,  they  said, 
prophesied  the  destruction  of  the  city,  and  it  was  not  de- 
stroyed, it  was  only  plundered.  And  they  hated  him  as 
before.  As  for  the  carrying  away  of  so  many  into  exile, 
the  men  who  were  left  felt  this  to  be  a  benefit  to  them. 
The  exile  vacated  a  thousand  offices,  and  opened  a  thou- 
sand positions.  Into  these  moved  the  inferior  men,  who 
proceeded  at  once  to  take  the  empty  places. 

The  difference  between  those  who  had  been  taken  to 
Babylon  and  those  who  remained  in  Jerusalem  was  com- 
pared by  Jeremiah  to  the  contrast  between  two  baskets  of 
figs  (Jeremiah  24).  One  basket  was  filled  with  very  good 
figs,  the  other  with  very  bad  figs,  which  could  not  be  eaten, 
they  were  so  bad.  The  comparison  did  not  increase  the 
liking  of  the  survivors  for  Jeremiah.  Still  less  were  they 
pleased  with  his  word  from  the  Lord.  "  I  will  deliver  them 
to  be  removed  into  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  for  their 
hurt,  to  be  a  reproach  and  a  proverb,  a  taunt  and  a  curse, 
in  all  places  whither  I  shall  drive  them." 

At  the  same  time,  Jeremiah  wrote  a  letter  (Jeremiah 
29 :  1-14)  to  the  exiles  in  Babylon,  advising  them  to  build 
houses  and  plant  gardens  and  make  ready  for  a  long  stay, 
for  seventy  years  must  be  accomplished  before  the  Lord 
would  bring  them  back.  And  this  displeased  them,  for 
they  were  looking  every  day  for  a  divine  release  from  their 
captivity. 

2.  In  the  Reign  of  Zedekiah.  //  Kings  24:17-20, 
II  Chronicles  36:11-16,  Jeremiah  27,  28. — Zedekiah 
was  the  creature  of  the  king  of  Chaldea,  as  Jehoiakim 
had  been  the  creature  of   the  king  of  Egypt.     He   had 


i8o  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

sworn  a  great  oath  of  allegiance  (Ezekiel  17:11-21). 
But  he  broke  the  oath.  The  bitter  experience  through 
which  Jerusalem  had  passed  had  taught  him  nothing. 
His  mind  and  the  minds  of  his  court  were  still  possessed 
with  the  idea  of  the  might  of  Egypt.  To  Jeremiah,  as  to 
Isaiah  before  him,  this  idea  was  utter  folly.  It  was  plain 
to  the  prophet  that  the  king  of  Babylon  held  the  Pales- 
tinian provinces  in  his  hand,  and  that  it  was  impossible 
for  Egypt  to  take  them  out. 

But  Jeremiah  stood  alone.  Even  the  prophets  were 
against  him.  In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah, 
at  a  time  when  messengers  were  present  in  the  court  from 
Edom  and  Moab  and  Ammon  and  Tyre,  Jeremiah  made 
wooden  yokes  and  gave  one  to  each  of  them,  saying  that 
any  nation  which  would  not  put  their  neck  under  the  yoke 
of  the  king  of  Babylon  should  be  punished  with  the  sword. 
Only  by  submission  could  they  escape  death.  He  declared 
that  the  prophets  who  were  promising  a  speedy  return  from 
Babylon  were  speaking  lies.  One  of  the  prophets  took  off 
the  yoke  which  Jeremiah  had  on  his  own  neck,  and  broke 
it,  declaring  that  within  two  years  the  yoke  of  Babylon 
should  be  broken,  and  all  the  exiles  should  return.  For 
the  moment  Jeremiah  went  away  in  silence.  But  he 
came  back  and  changed  the  yokes  of  wood  for  yokes  of 
iron. 

Nevertheless,  Zedekiah  put  his  trust  in  Egypt.  Thither 
he  sent  ambassadors  (Ezekiel  17 :  15).  He  rebelled 
against  Nebuchadnezzar.  He  thereby  invited  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  which  followed. 

3.  The  Fall  of  Jerusalem.  //  Kings  2^,  II  Chronicles 
36 :  17-21,  Jeremiah  34,  37,  ^^.  —  When  the  siege  began, 
Zedekiah  sent  to  consult  Jeremiah,  hoping  perhaps  for  such 


THE    CHALDEAN   INVASION  i8i 

an  answer  as  Isaiah  had  given  in  his  time.  But  Jeremiah 
replied  that  the  only  hope  for  safety  was  in  surrender.  ''  I 
myself  will  fight  against  you,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  with  an 
outstretched  hand  and  with  a  strong  arm,  even  in  anger, 
and  in  fury,  and  in  great  wrath  "  (Jeremiah  21 :  1-7).  "He 
that  abideth  in  this  city  shall  die  by  the  sword,  and  by  the 
famine,  and  by  the  pestilence ;  but  he  that  goeth  out  to 
the  Chaldeans  that  besiege  you,  he  shall  live."  Thus  he 
said,  day  after  day,  till  they  put  him  in  prison  to  silence 
him. 

The  Egyptians  came  to  help  their  aUies,  and  the  siege 
was  raised  while  the  Chaldeans  went  to  meet  them.  It 
seemed  like  the  siege  of  Sennacherib  over  again,  and  the 
people  were  full  of  joy  and  confidence.  In  one  matter,  they 
had  obeyed  Jeremiah :  they  had  freed  such  of  their  own 
countrymen  as  had  been  made  slaves  to  them  for  debt 
(Jeremiah  34).  But  when  the  Chaldeans  went  away, 
they  took  them  back.  Jeremiah  declared  that  the  Chal- 
deans would  return.  "  They  shall  come  again,  and  fight 
against  this  city  and  take  it,  and  burn  it  with  fire." 

In  the  interval,  the  prophet  attempted  to  leave  the  city. 
He  was  arrested  at  the  gate,  on  the  charge  of  deserting 
to  the  Chaldeans,  and  was  put  into  a  worse  prison 
than  before.  There  the  king  secretly  consulted  him 
again.  ''Is  there  any  word  from  the  Lord?"  said 
Zedekiah.  "  There  is,"  repHed  the  prophet :  "Thou  shalt 
be  delivered  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon."  The 
king  released  him  from  the  dungeon,  but  kept  him  in  the 
prison  court.  Daily,  in  the  famine  which  was  then  begin- 
ning, he  had  a  piece  of  bread  out  of  the  bakers'  street. 

Again  he  was  put  in  strict  confinement.  They  said  that 
he  was  telling  the  people  to  desert  to  the  enemy.     He  was 


i82  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

let  down  into  a  deep  dry  cistern  under  the  prison.  But 
out  of  this,  one  of  the  king's  servants,  a  man  from  Ethiopia, 
saved  him.  He  threw  down  rags  to  Jeremiah  to  put  under 
his  arms,  and  drew  him  up  with  a  rope.  And  still  the  siege 
went  on. 

At  last,  the  wall  was  broken,  and  the  king  of  Babylon 
came  in,  and  all  his  princes  with  him,  and  Zedekiah  and  the 
garrison  went  out  by  the  gate  of  the  king's  garden.  They 
went  by  night  and  fled  across  the  plain.  And  the  Chal- 
deans followed  and  overtook  them  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Jericho.  The  sons  of  Zedekiah  and  all  his  nobles  were 
slain  before  his  eyes.  The  Chaldeans  burned  the  palace 
and  the  houses  and  broke  down  the  walls.  They  put  out 
the  eyes  of  Zedekiah,  and  bound  him  with  fetters  of  brass, 
and  carried  him  to  Babylon.  And  with  him  they  carried 
all  but  the  poorest  of  the  people.  These  they  left  to  till 
the  fields.  The  brazen  pillars  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  the 
*'  brazen  sea,"  they  broke  in  pieces ;  and  all  the  gold  and 
silver  things,  they  took  away.  The  chief  priest,  and  the 
second  priest,  and  the  commander  of  the  garrison,  and  the 
principal  scribe,  and  some  others,  they  killed  by  the  way 
at  Riblah.     The  rest  they  brought  to  Babylon. 

Two  little  books  remain  to  express  the  grief  and  indigna- 
tion of  the  exiles.  One  is  the  prophecy  of  Obadiah  against 
Edom,  the  other  is  the  Lamentations. 

The  soul  of  Obadiah  was  filled  with  the  memory  of  those 
men  of  Edom  who  looked  on  with  exultation  at  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem.  "  In  the  day  that  thou  stoodest  on  the  other 
side,  in  the  day  that  the  strangers  carried  away  captive 
his  forces,  and  foreigners  entered  into  his  gates,  and  cast 
lots  upon  Jerusalem,  even  thou  wast  as  one  of  them.  Thou 
shouldest  not  have  rejoiced  over  thy  brethren  the  children 


THE    CHALDEAN   INVASION  183 

of  Judah  in  the  day  of  their  destruction."  "  Neither 
shouldest  thou  have  stood  in  the  crossway  to  cut  off  those 
that  did  escape."  "  Thy  reward  shall  return  on  thine  own 
head." 

The  five  poems  which  compose  the  book  of  Lamentations 
bewail  the  fate  of  the  holy  city.  "  How  doth  the  city  sit 
solitary,  that  was  full  of  people !  Judah  is  gone  into  cap- 
tivity. For  these  things  I  weep.  Mine  eye,  mine  eye 
runneth  down  with  water.  The  Lord  hath  cast  off  his 
altar,  he  hath  abhorred  his  sanctuary.  Is  this  the  city 
that  was  called  the  perfection  of  beauty,  the  joy  of  the 
whole  earth?  The  mountain  of  Zion,  foxes  walk  upon 
it!" 

4.  Gedaliah  the  Governor.  //  Kings  25 :  22-26,  Jere- 
miah 39-44.  —  Over  the  farmers  and  vinedressers,  and 
the  others  who  were  left  in  the  land,  Nebuchadnezzar 
appointed  as  governor  one  of  their  own  countrymen, 
Gedaliah,  grandson  of  Josiah's  old  chancellor,  Shaphan. 
To  Jeremiah  the  choice  was  courteously  given  whether 
to  go  to  Babylon  or  to  remain.  He  preferred  to  remain. 
Jerusalem  being  in  ruins,  the  governor  established  him- 
self near  by,  at  Mizpah.  The  captains  of  the  forces  which 
were  in  the  fields  came  in;  and  Jews  returned  who  had 
found  refuge  in  Edom,  in  Moab  and  in  Ammon;  and 
were  sent  out  to  gather  fruit  and  wine  and  oil,  and  to 
dwell  in  their  cities. 

But  the  captains  came  to  Gedaliah  and  reported  that 
one  of  their  number,  named  Ishmael,  had  been  hired  by 
the  king  of  Ammon  to  kill  him.  The  governor  would 
not  believe  it.  Captain  Johanan  offered  to  slay  Ishmael 
before  he  could  carry  out  his  plot,  but  Gedaliah  would 
not  permit  it.     Then  came  Ishmael  and  ten  men  with 


i84  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

him  to  Gedaliah,  and  dined  with  him  with  all  show  of 
friendship,  and  after  dinner  they  rose  up  and  smote  him 
so  that  he  died.  They  put  to  death  all  whom  they  found 
in  the  place,  and  beside  them  eighty  men  who  came  down 
from  Samaria  to  burn  incense  on  the  altar  of  the  ruined 
temple;  and  the  bodies  were  cast  into  the  ditch  which 
King  Asa  had  dug  in  the  old  time  to  protect  the  wall  of 
Jerusalem  from  the  attack  of  Baasha.  Those  who  re- 
mained they  seized  to  carry  them  to  Ammon. 

Then  Johanan  gathered  men  and  waylaid  Ishmael  by 
the  pool  of  Gideon,  and  released  the  captives.  Ishmael 
escaped  to  Ammon.  Thus  Johanan  was  the  head  of  the 
people.  He  proposed  to  flee  to  Egypt  for  fear  of  the  Chal- 
deans, and  this  was  done  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  Jere- 
miah. Down  they  went  into  Egypt,  taking  Jeremiah 
with  them. 

And  there  in  Egypt,  the  prophet  continued  to  reprove 
the  people  for  their  sins.  They  began  to  worship  other 
gods.  They  declared  that  they  were  prosperous,  and  had 
good  luck  and  plenty  to  eat  in  the  days  when  their  wives 
made  cakes  to  the  queen  of  heaven ;  and  they  vowed  that 
they  would  do  it  again.  Everything,  they  said,  has  gone 
wrong  since  we  stopped  it.  Jeremiah  explained  in  vain 
that  the  wrong  had  come  by  reason  of  their  sins ;  that  it 
was  their  idolatries  which  had  made  their  land  a  desola- 
tion, and  an  astonishment,  and  a  curse,  without  an  in- 
habitant. They  would  not  listen.  With  this  character- 
istic scene,  the  like  of  which  had  been  enacted  a  hundred 
times  in  Jeremiah's  faithful  life,  his  voice,  stern  but  tender, 
faUs  into  silence,  and  he  appears  no  more. 


XXIX 
EZEKIEL  AND   THE   EXILE  IN  BABYLON 

597-538 

I.  Between  the  Two  Captivities.  Ezekiel  1-24.  —  Con- 
cerning the  condition  of  the  Jews  who  were  carried  to 
Babylon  in  597,  the  Old  Testament  historians  are  silent. 
The  only  fact  which  they  record  is  that  after  some  years 
King  Jehoiachin  was  released  from  prison  and  given  an 
honorable  place  in  the  Babylonian  court  (II  Kings  25  : 
27-30).  But  this  was  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
in  586.  Our  information  regarding  the  ten  years  between 
the  two  captivities  comes  from  one  of  the  captives  them- 
selves, the  prophet  Ezekiel. 

In  the  midst  of  this  time,  five  years  after  Nebuchad- 
nezzar had  brought  to  Babylon  the  leaders  of  the  Jewish 
state  and  church  and  the  chief  citizens  of  Jerusalem, 
Ezekiel  saw  visions  of  God. 

We  learn  from  his  writings  that  the  colony  of  exiles  were 
living  beside  the  river  Chebar,  one  of  the  canals  which 
carried  water  from  the  Euphrates  to  irrigate  the  rich 
plains  of  Babylonia.  The  ten  thousand  men  of  the  first 
captivity  (II  Kings  24 :  14),  with  their  wives  and  families, 
seem  not  to  have  been  scattered  like  the  exiles  from  Sa- 
maria (II  Kings  17:6),  but  to  have  been  settled  in  a  single 
district.     This  was  in  accordance  with  the  constructive 

185 


i86  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

policy  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  whose  inscriptions  are  filled 
with  records  not  of  fighting,  but  of  building.  He  needed 
honest  and  industrious  colonists,  some  to  be  masons  and 
carpenters,  and  some  to  be  market  gardeners  to  supply 
the  great  and  increasing  population  of  the  capital.  The 
exiles  were  a  sad  and  homesick  people ;  by  the  waters  of 
Babylon  they  sat  down  and  wept  (Psalm  137).  But  they 
were  well  treated;  they  had  their  liberty;  they  lived 
under  their  own  laws,  which  were  administered  by  their 
elders  (Ezekiel  14:  i). 

For  ten  years  the  exiles  persisted  in  the  expectation  of 
return.  Against  that  expectation,  Ezekiel  protested. 
He  declared  that  Jerusalem  should  be  destroyed. 

One  time  he  took  a  tile,  —  a  large  flat  brick  of  clay,  such 
as  they  used  in  Babylon  to  write  on,  —  and  drew  upon  it 
the  outline  of  a  city,  with  tents  about  it  to  indicate  a 
siege,  and  pictures  of  battering  rams;  and  between  the 
city  and  himself,  he  held  up  a  sheet  of  iron.  Thus  he 
showed  not  only  that  Jerusalem  should  be  besieged,  but 
that  in  that  time  of  distress  the  city  should  have  no  help 
from  God  (Ezekiel  4:  1-3). 

Another  time  he  cut  off  his  hair,  and  burned  three 
parts  of  it  in  a  fire  which  he  made  on  the  tile  city.  Three 
parts  he  struck  with  a  knife;  the  remaining  three  parts 
he  scattered  in  the  mud ;  a  few  hairs  he  saved.  Thus  he 
declared  that  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  a  third  should 
die  of  plague  and  famine,  a  third  should  fall  by  the  sword, 
and  a  third  —  except  a  few  —  should  be  scattered  to  the 
wind  (Ezekiel  5  :  1-4). 

He  told  of  a  vision  which  he  saw.  He  was  in  the  temple 
in  Jerusalem,  and  there  was  an  idol  there  of  some  strange 
god;    and  there  was  a  pictured  chamber,  all  of  whose 


EZEKIEL   AND    THE   EXILE   IN   BABYLON     187 

walls  were  painted  with  the  likenesses  of  beasts  and 
creeping  things,  and  seventy  men  of  Israel  were  burning 
incense  before  them ;  and  there  was  a  gate  where  women 
sat  weeping  for  Tammuz,  a  god  of  the  Phoenicians ;  and 
there  was  a  court  where  twenty-five  men,  with  their  backs 
to  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  worshipped  the  rising  sun.  And 
there  came  a  man  with  a  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side,  and 
five  men  after  him  with  swords ;  and  the  man  with  the  ink- 
horn  went  through  the  city  and  made  a  mark  on  the  fore- 
heads of  all  who  were  sorry  for  these  things,  and  the  men  with 
the  swords  followed  him  and  slew  all  who  were  not  marked. 
And  in  the  temple  was  the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of  a 
throne,  blue  as  sapphire,  blue  as  the  clear  sky,  and  the 
throne  had  wheels,  and  about  it  were  living  creatures  with 
wings,  and  between  the  wheels  were  coals  of  fire.  The 
man  with  the  inkhorn  scattered  the  coals  of  fire  over  the 
city.  And  the  wheeled  throne  began  to  move,  first  to 
the  threshold  of  the  temple,  then  outside,  then  up  from  the 
midst  of  the  city,  and  out  to  the  mountain  on  the  east. 
The  vision  meant  that  God  had  forsaken  the  city  which 
the  people  had  polluted  by  their  idolatries  (Ezekiel  10, 

II). 

And  that  which  Ezekiel  thus  declared  in  symbols  and 
visions,  he  said  also  with  plainness.  He  knew  very  well 
what  would  follow  when  King  Zedekiah  rebelled  and 
sought  the  aid  of  Egypt  (Ezekiel  17:11-21).  It  came 
to  pass,  even  as  he  had  predicted.  Nebuchadnezzar 
sent  again,  and  punished  the  rebellious  city  with  complete 
destruction.  And  one  came  running  (Ezekiel  ^7,:  21)  and 
cried  "  the  city  is  smitten !  "  The  second  company  of 
exiles  followed,  nearly  five  thousand  men,  with  women 
and  children  (Jeremiah  52  :  28-30). 


i88  OLD   TESTAMENT   HISTORY 

2.  Facing  the  Future.  Ezekiel  36-48,  Leviticus  17-26. 
—  The  departure  of  the  people  from  Palestine  affected 
their  history  and  character  as  deeply  as  their  entrance 
into  it. 

The  Conquest  had  made  the  tribes  of  Israel  a  nation. 
Leaving  the  wilderness  behind  them,  where  they  had 
wandered  like  Bedouin,  they  settled  in  the  land,  and  began 
to  till  the  ground.  They  had  vineyards  and  olive  yards, 
and  lived  in  villages  and  towns. 

The  Exile  destroyed  the  nation.  The  people  were 
scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth ;  they  settled  not  only 
in  Egypt  with  Jeremiah  and  in  Chaldea  with  Ezekiel,  but 
wherever  else  they  could  find  hospitality  and  occupation. 
And  that  condition  continues  to  this  day.  It  is  true  that 
some  of  them  returned,  and  the  city  and  the  temple  were 
rebuilt;  but  those  who  returned  were  but  a  fraction  of 
the  people,  and  they  lived  under  foreign  rulers,  having  no 
longer  any  kings  of  their  own,  till  the  final  destruction 
of  the  temple  by  the  Romans  (70  a.d.).  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  Jews  who  were  attending  the  feast  of  Pente- 
cost at  the  beginning  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  indicates 
the  wideness  of  their  dispersion.  They  came  from  the 
lands  of  the  Parthians  and  Medes  and  Elamites,  from 
Mesopotamia  and  Cappadocia,  from  Pontus  and  Asia, 
from  Phrygia  and  Pamphylia,  from  Egypt  and  the  part 
of  Libya  about  Cyrene,  from  Rome,  from  Crete,  from 
Arabia.  Ceasing  to  be  farmers,  they  became  traders. 
Ceasing  to  be  bound  together  by  a  common  government, 
they  were  united,  no  matter  how  far  apart  they  lived, 
by  a  common  religion.  The  Exile,  which  was  the  end 
of  the  Hebrew  state,  was  the  beginning  of  the  Jewish 
Church. 


EZEKIEL   AND   THE    EXILE   IN   BABYLON      189 

The  first  necessity  was  to  comfort  the  exiles  in  their 
despair  by  turning  their  faces  toward  the  future.  This 
was  done  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel.  The  great  blow  having 
now  fallen,  the  kingdom  of  Judah  having  met  the  fate  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel,  the  predictions  of  the  prophet 
having  been  fulfilled,  Ezekiel  changed  his  message  of 
destruction  for  a  message  of  restoration.  He  declared 
that  the  people  should  return  to  their  own  land,  and  re- 
build their  desolated  city  and  their  ruined  temple  (Eze- 
kiel 36:  1-12).  He  described  another  invasion,  like  that 
of  Sennacherib  and  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  On  came  the 
vast  army,  out  of  Asia  and  Africa  and  Europe,  with  Gog 
of  the  land  of  Magog  leading  them,  to  destroy  the  restored 
people.  And  the  Lord  fought  against  the  invaders,  and 
the  slaughter  was  so  great  that  it  was  seven  months 
before  they  could  bury  all  the  slain;  and  their  shields 
and  bucklers,  their  bows  and  arrows,  served  the  people 
for  seven  years  for  firewood  (Ezekiel  38,  39).  In  the 
midst  of  the  land  thus  defended  by  the  Lord,  Ezekiel 
pictured  a  new  temple  in  a  new  Jerusalem.  There  was 
no  king,  and  the  main  duty  of  the  princes  was  to  provide 
material  for  the  sacrifices;  the  leaders  and  rulers  were 
the  priests. 

A  second  necessity  was  to  keep  the  people  separate 
from  their  neighbors.  As  the  years  went  by  and  they 
prospered  in  their  new  home,  they  were  in  danger  of  for- 
getting their  own  land,  and  of  adopting  not  only  the  cus- 
toms but  the  religion  of  Babylon.  Having  no  longer  any 
temple,  they  could  not  offer  the  sacrifices  nor  perform  the 
services  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed;  even  the 
memory  of  these  might  perish.  The  wise  men  who  saw 
these  perils  called  Moses  to  their  assistance.     They  re- 


iQo  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

vived  and  rewrote  the  counsels  which  Moses  had  given 
in  the  old  time  regarding  the  behavior  of  the  Chosen 
People  in  strange  lands.  Thus  came  into  its  present  form 
a  great  part  of  the  book  of  Leviticus,  especially  the  Code 
of  Holiness,  which  is  contained  in  the  chapters  from  the 
seventeenth  to  the  twenty-sixth.  The  word  hoHness  in 
this  sense  means  separation.  The  purpose  of  the  renewal 
of  the  ancient  laws  was  to  keep  the  people  apart  from  all 
influences  which  might  cause  them  to  cease  to  be  Jews 
and  become  Gentiles.  The  fact  that  there  were  certain 
kinds  of  food  which  they  were  forbidden  to  eat  prevented 
them  from  dining  with  their  neighbors,  and  thus  protected 
them  from  the  social  life  which  might  break  down  the 
barriers  of  distinction. 

In  order  that  the  people  might  be  taught  these  laws, 
the  synagogue  came  into  existence.  In  the  place  of  the 
temple,  these  houses  of  prayer  and  preaching  were  built 
in  the  midst  of  every  little  community.  They  there  read 
not  only  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  which  taught  them 
their  duty  towards  their  neighbors,  and  the  book  of 
Leviticus,  which  taught  them  their  duty  towards  God,  but 
those  histories  of  their  forefathers  which  had  been  col- 
lected in  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  in  the  kingdom  of 
Judah,  and  brought  together  after  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
had  been  destroyed.  The  day  appointed  for  these  meet- 
ings in  the  synagogue  was  the  Sabbath,  upon  which  they 
now  laid  new  emphasis,  and  which  was  devoted  not  only, 
as  at  the  beginning,  to  rest,  but  to  religion.  Thus  the 
need  of  keeping  the  people  from  Babylonian  influences 
brought  into  prominence  the  institutions  which  have 
distinguished  the  Jews  from  that  day  to  this  —  the  Sab- 
bath, the  Synagogue  and  the  Law. 


EZEKIEL   AND   THE   EXILE   IN   BABYLON      191 

3.   The  Fall  of  Babylon.      Isaiah  45 :  1-4 ;   13,   14.  — 

The  successors  of  Nebuchadnezzar  on  the  throne  of  Baby- 
lon were  inferior  to  him  both  in  wisdom  and  in  strength. 
His  son  Evil-Merodach,  who  freed  Jehoiachin  from  prison 
(II  Kings  25:27),  was  assassinated  by  Nergilissar,  who 
may  have  been  the  Nergal-Sharezer  of  the  siege  of  Jeru- 
salem (Jeremiah  39  :  3).  He  was  followed  by  Narbonidus, 
who  occupied  himself  in  studies  of  ancient  history  and  in 
the  rebuilding  of  old  temples,  and  left  the  ruling  of  the 
kingdom  to  his  son  Belshazzar   (Daniel  5). 

Meanwhile,  in  the  north,  the  Medes,  who  had  divided 
the  ancient  empire  of  Assyria  with  the  Chaldeans  after 
their  united  armies  had  destroyed  Nineveh,  had  come 
under  the  rule  of  a  new  king,  Cyrus.  This  vigorous  sov- 
ereign, who  took  the  title  of  king  of  Persia,  conquered 
Mesopotamia,  and  marching  to  the  west  defeated  Croesus, 
the  rich  king  of  Sardis,  and  took  possession  of  all  Asia 
Minor.  Then  he  moved  his  victorious  forces  to  the 
south,  carrying  everything  before  him,  and  made  himself 
master  of  Babylon.  This  was  in  538.  Thus  the  sceptre 
of  the  world  changed  hands  again.  As  the  Chaldeans 
had  dethroned  the  Assyrians  by  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  so 
now  the  Persians  by  the  fall  of  Babylon  dethroned  the 
Chaldeans. 

Two  chapters  in  the  book  of  Isaiah  (13,  14)  express  the 
exultation  of  the  Jews  over  the  conquest  of  their  Chaldean 
masters.  The  prophet  rejoices  in  the  taking  of  Babylon, 
as  Nahum  had  rejoiced  in  the  taking  of  Nineveh. 

The  policy  of  Cyrus  the  Persian  in  his  dealings  with 
subject  nations  was  altogether  different  from  the  policy 
of  Sennacherib  who  deported  the  people  of  Israel,  and  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  who  deported  the  people  of  Judah.     His 


192  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

inscriptions  represent  him  as  saying,  "  The  gods  whose 
sanctuaries  from  of  old  had  lain  in  ruins  I  brought  back 
again  to  their  dwelling-places  and  caused  them  to  reside 
there  forever.  All  the  citizens  of  these  lands  I  assembled 
and  I  restored  them  to  their  homes."  Thus  with  the 
accession  of  Cyrus,  the  long  exile  of  the  Jews  in  Babylon 
was  ended. 


XXX 

THE   REBUILDING  OF  JERUSALEM 

JuDAH  Persia 

Sheshbazzar  538  Cyrus  538-529 

Zerubbabel  and  Joshua  520  Cambyses  529-522 

Haggai  Darius  521-485 

Zechariah 

Ezra  Xerxes  485-465 

Nehemiah  444-432  Artaxerxes  465-425 

Malachi 

I.  The  Rebuilding  of  the  Temple.  Ezra  1-6,  Haggai, 
Zechariah  1-8.  —  The  family  lists  of  returned  exiles  in 
Ezra  (ch.  2)  and  Nehemiah  (ch.  7),  with  the  total  number 
of  forty-two  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty,  appear 
at  the  first,  reading  to  represent  a  triumphal  procession. 
They  came  with  men  servants  and  women  servants,  on 
horses  and  mules  and  asses  and  camels,  accompanied  by 
priests  and  singers,  bearing  the  gold  and  silver  vessels 
which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken  from  the  temple. 

This  account,  however,  was  written  so  long  after  the 
event  that  we  are  left  in  uncertainty  as  to  the  leader 
of  the  expedition,  whether  he  was  Sheshbazzar  (Ezra  i :  11) 
or  Zerubbabel  (Ezra  2:2).  And  the  names  on  examina- 
tion are  found  to  include  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  (Azariah) 
(Nehemiah  7:7),  who  did  not  come  till  nearly  a  hundred 
years  after  the  fall  of  Babylon.  It  is  significant  that 
o  193 


194  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

Haggai  and  Zechariah  make  no  mention  of  any  return. 
Even  Nehemiah,  referring  to  the  people  of  Palestine, 
speaks  of  them  as  "  the  Jews  that  had  escaped,  which 
were  left  of  the  captivity,"  "  the  remnant  that  are  left  of 
the  captivity  there  in  the  province." 

The  exiles  were  comfortable  and  prosperous  in  their 
homes  in  the  east.  The  stories  of  Daniel  and  his  friends 
in  the  court  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  of  Belshazzar  (Daniel 
1-6),  and  of  Esther  and  Mordecai  (Esther  i-io)  in  the 
court  of  Ahasuerus  (=  Xerxes),  and  the  record  of  Ne- 
hemiah in  the  court  of  Artaxerxes  (Nehemiah  1:2),  indicate 
that  Jews  had  access  to  high  places  of  trust  and  honor. 
And  the  journey  across  the  plains  to  Palestine  was  difficult 
and  dangerous ;  and  the  conditions  in  the  ruined  city  of 
their  fathers  were  uninviting.  So  many  years  had  passed 
since  the  beginning  of  the  exile  that  most  of  those  who  were 
freed  by  the  decree  of  Cyrus  had  been  born  in  Babylon. 
They  were  disposed  to  stay  there.  Companies  of  them 
from  time  to  time,  under  Sheshbazzar,  under  Zerubbabel, 
with  Ezra,  with  Nehemiah,  returned  to  Jerusalem.  But 
the  majority  of  those  who  heard  the  urgent  sermons  of 
Haggai,  Zechariah  and  Malachi,  and  with  whom  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah  dealt,  were  probably  the  descendants  of 
the  people  who  had  fled  from  the  Chaldean  captors,  and 
had  returned  from  their  refuges  in  Moab,  and  Edom,  and 
Ammon,  and  Egypt  (Jeremiah  40:  11). 

The  temple  had  indeed  been  destroyed,  but  the  altar 
at  the  gate  of  the  temple  could  not  be  destroyed,  being 
cut  in  the  native  rock  of  the  hill.  There,  from  the  first, 
the  faithful  had  come,  even  from  Samaria  (Jeremiah  41 :  s), 
bringing  their  offerings,  and  praying  their  prayers.  The 
temple  lay  in  ruins.     Exiles  returned  after  the  fall  of 


THE   REBUILDING  OF  JERUSALEM       195 

Babylon,  but  the  Lord's  house  still  lay  waste.  They 
built  their  own  houses,  but  they  were  too  poor,  or  dis- 
couraged, or  indifferent,  to  undertake  the  rebuilding  of 
the  temple. 

It  is  significant  that  the  definite  beginning  of  the  work 
occurred  in  520,  when  a  new  young  king  of  Persia,  Darius, 
was  contending  against  rebellion  in  many  parts  of  his 
empire.  It  looked  like  the  breaking  up  of  the  Persian 
power.  Zechariah,  in  the  vision  with  which  his  book 
opens,  saw  four  horns  which  had  scattered  Israel,  Judah 
and  Jerusalem,  and  four  carpenters  come  to  cut  them 
down.  Haggai  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  saying,  "  I 
will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the 
dry  land,  and  I  will  shake  all  nations."  It  seemed  as  if 
the  Jews  might  assert  their  independence.  In  order  to 
make  such  an  assertion  possible  there  must  be  a  revival 
of  the  national  spirit ;  and  to  that  end  there  must  be  a 
restoration  of  the  central  shrine. 

At  such  a  time,  the  prophets  stirred  up  Joshua  the  high 
priest,  and  Zerubbabel  the  governor,  and  "  the  remnant 
of  the  people,"  and  they  set  about  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple. 

The  progress  of  the  work  was  threatened  by  the  inter- 
ference of  Tattenai,  the  Persian  governor  of  the  provinces 
west  of  the  Euphrates,  who  informed  Darius  that  the 
house  of  the  great  god  was  being  builded  with  great  stones, 
and  evidently  suspected  that  this  was  another  in  the  series 
of  revolts  against  the  throne  of  Persia.  But  Darius 
found  the  decree  in  which  Cyrus  had  permitted  the  res- 
toration, and  not  only  allowed  the  work  to  go  on,  but 
ordered  that  materials  for  the  daily  sacrifices  should  be 
provided   at   government   expense    (Ezra    5,    6).     Thus, 


196  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

after  four  years,  the  temple  was  completed,  and  was 
dedicated  with  great  joy. 

2.  The  Expectation  of  the  Messiah.  —  To  those  who 
remembered  the  former  temple,  the  new  one  seemed  as 
nothing  in  comparison  to  it ;  but  they  hoped  that  in  one 
important  respect  it  would  be  far  better.  In  the  new 
temple  might  appear  at  last  the  long-expected  redeemer  of 
the  people,  the  Messiah.  The  name,  which  is  familiar 
to  us  in  its  Greek  form,  the  Christ,  means  the  Anointed 
One,  from  the  ceremony  with  which  kings  were  conse- 
crated. "  The  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come,  and  I 
will  fill  this  house  with  glory,  said  the  Lord  of  hosts  " 
(Haggai  2 :  7). 

The  Messiah  was  thought  of  as  the  ideal  king,  who 
should  bring  the  people  out  of  their  subjection  and  dis- 
tress, and  restore  again  the  ancient  splendor  of  the  days 
of  David.  He  was  called  the  Branch,  meaning  that  he 
would  grow  out  of  the  family  of  David  as  a  branch  grows 
from  the  trunk  of  a  tree  (Isaiah  11 :  i).  "  Behold,  the 
days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a 
righteous  Branch,  and  a  king  shall  reign  and  prosper, 
and  shall  execute  judgment  and  righteousness  in  the 
earth"  (Jeremiah  23:5,  6  compare  Ezekiel  17:22-24, 
Zechariah  6  :  12,  13).  Micah  looked  for  him  from  Bethle- 
hem to  save  the  people  from  the  Assyrians  (Micah  5 :  2, 
5).  Zechariah  hoped  that  he  had  come  at  last  in  the 
person  of  Zerubbabel,  the  prince  of  the  house  of  David, 
the  restorer  of  the  temple.  "  He  shall  build  the  temple 
of  the  Lord ;  and  he  shall  bear  the  glory  and  shall  sit  and 
rule  upon  his  throne."  "  In  that  day,"  said  the  Lord  by 
Haggai,  "  I  will  take  thee,  O  Zerubbabel,  my  servant,  and 
I  will  make  thee  as  a  signet ;  for  I  have  chosen  thee,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts." 


THE   REBUILDING   OF   JERUSALEM       197 

The  Messiah  represented  the  Golden  Age.  In  him  was 
personified  the  faith  of  the  Jews  that  they  were  indeed  the 
Chosen  People,  and  that  God  would  make  that  choice 
evident  to  all  the  earth.  As  their  afflictions  continued, 
and  they  were  in  subjection  under  foreign  rulers,  their 
confidence  continued  also  that  the  time  of  their  redemp- 
tion must  be  drawing  near.  The  Messiah  was  Immanuel, 
God-with-us.  He  was  ''  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the 
Mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of 
Peace"  (Isaiah  8  :  8-10 ;  9 :  6). 

They  hoped  that  the  new  temple  would  be  glorified  by 
the  coming  of  this  saviour,  who  would  deliver  them  out 
of  their  distress,  and  make  Jerusalem  a  city  of  truth  and 
righteousness  for  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

3.  The  Golden  Century.  —  With  the  completion  of  the 
temple  in  516  all  records  cease  for  half  a  century.  Be- 
tween the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  of  the  book  of  Ezra 
there  is  a  long  silence.  Nobody  knows  what  events  were 
taking  place.  But  meanwhile,  outside  in  the  great  world, 
important  events  were  happening,  and  remarkable  men 
were  beginning  to  exert  influences  which  continue  strong 
to  this  day. 

In  515,  Darius  bridged  the  Hellespont  and  invaded 
Europe.  In  490,  he  was  successfully  resisted  at  Marathon. 
In  480,  the  Greeks  met  Xerxes  at  Thermopylae,  and  de- 
feated him  at  Salamis.  iEschylus,  Sophocles  and  Eu- 
ripides were  producing  their  plays  at  Athens,  where  Soc- 
rates was  teaching  philosophy.  In  China,  Confucius 
(551-478)  was  founding  the  religious  system  which  bears 
his  name.  In  India,  Gotama  (568-488)  was  beginning 
to  preach  the  creed  and  conduct  which  resulted  in  Budd- 
hism. 


igS  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

It  is  possible  that  this  was  the  time  of  the  writing  of 
the  book  of  Job.  The  problem  of  the  book  is  one  which 
the  situation  in  Judea  may  well  have  forced  upon  the 
attention  of  reflective  minds.  That  situation  contra- 
dicted the  doctrine  that  God  would  give  the  good  the 
reward  of  prosperity,  and  the  bad  the  punishment  of 
adversity.  For  the  people,  in  spite  of  their  endeavors 
to  be  good,  in  spite  of  the  prayers  and  praises  of  the  re- 
stored temple,  were  still  oppressed  and  poor  and  miser- 
able. Job  is  presented  in  the  poem  which  bears  his  name 
as  a  man  ideally  righteous,  yet  suffering  the  loss  of  all 
his  property,  and  being  in  bitter  pain  of  body.  In  this 
situation,  he  maintains  his  integrity  and  his  faith  in  God 
crying  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him." 

4.  The  Rebuilding  of  the  Walls.  Malachi,  Ezra  4, 
Nehemiah  1-7  :  4.  —  The  temple  was  rebuilt,  but  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people  waned.  The  times  were  hard, 
the  harvests  were  small,  the  Persian  taxes  must  be  paid, 
the  expected  Messiah  did  not  come.  The  example  of  the 
patience  of  Job  was  hard  to  follow.  Many  felt  that  God 
had  forsaken  them.  They  said, "  It  is  vain  to  serve  God  "  ; 
they  said,  ''What  profit  is  it  that  we  have  kept  his  law?" 
They  neglected  the  services  in  the  temple,  and  for  sacri- 
fices they  offered  animals  which  were  blind,  or  lame,  or 
sick.  The  priests  were  as  bad  as  the  people  (Malachi 
1 :  8,  13 ;  2:1,  2).  The  prophet  Malachi  rebuked  these 
offenders.  The  Messiah,  he  said,  shall  surely  come,  but 
who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming?  for  he  shall  come 
in  swift  judgment  against  the  wicked. 

Meanwhile  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  were  still  in  ruins. 
To  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  the  Persians  made  no 
objection,  that  was  a  renewal  of  the  local  religion.     But 


THE   REBUILDING   OF   JERUSALEM       199 

the  rebuilding  of  the  walls,  thus  fortifying  again  the 
strong  citadel  of  Jerusalem,  was  a  different  matter.  This 
was  accomplished  at  last  by  the  influence  and  energy  of 
Nehemiah. 

Nehemiah  was  the  cup-bearer  of  Artaxerxes,  in  his 
palace  at  Susa.  The  report  of  the  affliction  and  reproach 
of  the  holy  city,  how  its  walls  were  broken  and  its  gates 
burned  with  fire,  came  to  the  ears  of  Nehemiah,  and  his 
distress  attracted  the  sympathetic  interest  of  the  king. 
Artaxerxes  made  him  governor  of  the  province,  and  gave 
him  authority  to  rebuild  the  walls.  He  went  with  letters 
from  the  king  which  assured  him  safe-conduct  to  the  land 
of  Judah,  and  gave  him  the  right  to  call  on  the  keeper  of 
the  king's  forest  for  timber  to  make  beams ;  and  captains 
and  horsemen  went  with  him. 

Having  come  to  Jerusalem,  he  first  examined  the  situ- 
ation privately,  riding  by  night  around  the  ruined  walls 
till  he  came  to  a  place  where  the  broken  stones  were  piled 
so  high  that  he  could  go  no  farther.  Then  he  called  the 
leaders  of  the  people  together,  showed  them  his  warrant 
from  the  king,  and  called  upon  them  to  join  with  him  in 
the  work  of  rebuilding.  Thus  the  work  began.  Nehe- 
miah assigned  the  wall  in  sections,  here  to  this  family, 
there  to  that,  men  being  especially  charged  to  rebuild  the 
parts  which  were  nearest  to  their  own  houses. 

The  work  proceeded  in  the  face  of  difficulty.  The 
ancient  hostility  between  the  kingdom  of  Judah  and  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  reappeared  in  connection  with  this 
strengthening  of  Jerusalem.  The  Jews  who  were  de- 
scended from  the  survivors  of  the  Assyrian  invasion  of  the 
northern  kingdom  seem  to  have  desired  to  join  with  their 
brethren  who  were  descended  from  the  survivors  of  the 


200  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

Chaldean  invasion  of  the  southern  kingdom.  But  their 
proposals  were  refused,  and  the  refusal  made  them  enemies. 

The  fourth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Ezra,  being  dated  in 
the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  refers  to  the  building  of  the  walls, 
and  to  a  letter  which  these  enemies  sent  to  the  Persian 
court  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Jews  were 
rebuilding  "  the  rebellious  and  bad  city."  This  hindrance 
being  of  no  avail,  they  threatened  to  stop  the  work  by  force. 
Under  the  leadership  of  Sanballat  and  Tobiah  they  came 
to  fight  against  Jerusalem.  Even  so,  Nehemiah  did  not 
pause.  He  armed  the  workmen,  and  set  watchmen  with 
trumpets  to  give  alarm  if  the  enemy  appeared.  Sanballat 
and  Tobiah  then  tried  treachery.  They  proposed  a  con- 
ference with  Nehemiah  in  a  neighboring  village,  to  which 
he  replied,  "  I  am  doing  a  great  work,  so  that  I  cannot 
come  down."  They  hired  a  man  to  warn  him  of  a  con- 
spiracy to  kill  him,  and  to  urge  him  to  hide  in  the  temple ; 
to  which  he  replied,  "  Should  such  a  man  as  I  flee?  " 

Thus  all  the  devices  of  the  enemy  came  to  naught,  and, 
by  working  day  and  night,  in  fifty-two  days  the  walls 
were  completed. 


XXXI 
THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  LAW 

I.  The  Reforms  of  Nehemiah.  Nehemiah  5,  13.  —  In 
the  midst  of  the  account  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls 
appears  an  incident  which  shows  that  reconstruction  was 
needed  not  only  by  the  city  but  by  the  citizens. 

A  bitter  complaint  was  made  by  the  poor  against  the 
rich.  Under  the  burden  of  taxation  to  pay  the  king's 
tribute,  and  under  the  stress  of  dearth  caused  by  failure 
of  the  crops,  many  had  been  obliged  to  mortgage  their 
lands  and  vineyards  and  houses  to  buy  food.  And  as  the 
necessity  continued  they  had  been  compelled  to  sell  their 
children  into  slavery.  The  holders  of  the  mortgages  and 
the  purchasers  of  the  children  were  their  own  rich  breth- 
ren. It  was  a  repetition  of  the  situation  against  which 
Amos  had  protested  (Amos  2:6).  A  great  cry  was  made, 
especially  by  the  poor  women,  mothers  weeping  for  their 
sons  and  daughters.  And  the  cry  came  to  the  ears  of 
Nehemiah. 

He  called  an  assembly,  and  publicly  rebuked  the  greed 
and  cruelty  of  the  nobles.  ''  We,"  he  said,  meaning  him- 
self and  his  friends,  "  have  been  giving  our  money  to 
redeem  our  brethren  out  of  bondage  to  the  heathen,  and 
you,  in  order  to  make  money,  are  bringing  them  into  bond- 
age. Moreover,  I  am  here  at  my  own  expense.  Your 
former  governors  have  required  you  to  furnish  them  with 
bread  and  wine,  and  have  taxed  you  for  their  support. 


202  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

Not  only  have  I  asked  nothing,  but  I  have  daily  enter- 
tained a  hundred  and  fifty  of  you  at  my  own  table,  besides 
such  as  come  from  neighboring  countries ;  so  many  that 
every  day  I  have  had  to  provide  an  ox  and  six  sheep, 
beside  bread  and  wine,  to  feed  them.  And  here  are  you, 
thinking  only  of  your  gain.  Come  now,  cease  these  exac- 
tions. Give  back  to  the  people  their  lands  and  their 
vineyards  and  their  houses,  and  their  children." 

And  this  the  nobles  did,  for  very  shame.  But  the  fact 
that  they  needed  such  a  rebuke  for  their  behavior  is  evi- 
dence that  the  social  situation  in  Jerusalem  was  bad. 
The  temple  had  been  rebuilt,  the  walls  were  being  re- 
built, it  was  now  necessary  to  rebuild  the  people. 

Nehemiah  perceived,  like  Malachi,  that  the  services  of 
the  restored  temple  were  neglected.  The  Levites  and  the 
singers,  being  no  longer  supported  by  the  offerings,  had 
gone  to  the  fields  to  earn  their  living.  The  house  of  God 
was  forsaken.  He  gathered  them  again,  and  made  the 
people  pay  the  proper  tithes. 

Nehemiah  found  that  the  Sabbath,  to  whose  observance 
so  much  importance  had  come  to  be  attached  in  the  land 
of  the  exile,  was  not  kept  with  strictness  in  Judea.  Men 
were  treading  wine  presses  and  bringing  in  sheaves,  and 
lading  asses,  and  carrying  their  produce  to  the  market  in 
Jerusalem,  and  selling  it  on  the  Sabbath  as  on  other  days. 
The  governor  commanded  that  the  gates  should  be  shut 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before  the  Sabbath,  and  not 
opened  till  the  morning  after.  Once  or  twice  the  mer- 
chants and  sellers  of  all  kinds  of  ware  lodged  outside,  on  the 
Sabbath,  by  the  wall,  hoping  for  opportunities  of  trade. 
"  If  ye  do  so  again,"  said  the  governor,  "  I  will  lay 
hands  on  you."     So  that  was  stopped. 


THE   PROCLAMATION   OF   THE  LAW      203 

Nehemiah  saw  that  little  attention  was  paid  to  the 
distinction  between  Jews  and  Gentiles.  That  separation 
which  had  been  so  strictly  observed  in  Babylon  for  the 
preservation  of  their  race  and  religion  had  not  seemed  so 
necessary  in  Judea.  The  matter  first  arose  in  connection 
with  Tobiah,  who  with  Sanballat  had  led  the  opposition 
against  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls.  Tobiah  had  ridiculed 
the  work,  saying  that  if  a  fox  ran  over  the  wall  it  would 
fall  down.  Now  the  priest  Eliashib  had  prepared  for 
Tobiah  a  great  chamber  in  the  temple.  The  chamber 
was  intended  originally  for  the  offerings  of  corn  and  wine 
and  oil,  and  was  empty  because  the  offerings  were  not 
made.  Nehemiah  turned  Tobiah  out,  with  all  his  house- 
hold stuff,  and  had  the  place  cleaned  and  restored  to  its 
former  uses. 

The  same  treatment  he  gave  to  a  grandson  of  Eliashib 
the  priest,  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  Sanballat. 
He  says,  "  I  chased  him  from  me." 

These  alliances  of  the  high  priest  represented  a  general 
situation.  Jews  had  married  wives  of  Ashdod,  of  Ammon 
and  of  Moab.  Their  children  could  not  speak  the  Jewish 
language.  ''  I  contended  with  them,"  says  Nehemiah, 
"  and  cursed  them,  and  smote  certain  of  them,  and  plucked 
off  their  hair."  The  situation  seemed  to  him  to  call  for 
vigorous  action. 

2.  The  Reforms  of  Ezra.  Ezra  7-10,  Nehemiah  8-10. 
—  The  same  reformation  was  undertaken  by  Ezra  the 
scribe.  The  narrative  is  confused,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
make  out  the  order  of  events.  Very  curious  is  the  fact 
that  Nehemiah  never  mentions  Ezra,  and  that  the  record 
of  the  work  of  Ezra,  except  in  one  doubtful  place,  makes 
no  reference  to  the  work  of  Nehemiah. 


204  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

Ezra  appeared  upon  the  scene  with  a  great  company  of 
returning  exiles,  provided  with  a  letter  from  Artaxerxes 
which  was  written  in  such  a  manner,  and  granted  such 
privileges,  and  promised  the  bearer  such  an  amazing 
amount  of  money  from  the  Persian  government,  that  some 
scholars  have  transferred  the  whole  matter,  and  Ezra 
himself  with  it,  from  the  world  of  fact  to  the  world  of 
imagination. 

Learning  upon  his  arrival  that  the  Jews  had  intermarried 
with  the  Gentiles,  he  sat  down  on  the  ground  in  a  public 
place,  tore  his  clothes  and  his  hair  as  men  did  who  were 
in  great  distress,  and  continued  in  silence  until  the  time 
of  the  evening  sacrifice,  surrounded  by  crowds  of  aston- 
ished and  troubled  people.  Then  he  fell  upon  his  knees, 
and  confessed  to  God  the  sins  of  the  people.  And  the 
people  joined  their  tears  with  his.  Thereupon  a  proclama- 
tion was  made  calling  a  general  assembly  on  the  third  day. 
The  day  came,  and  the  people  stood  in  the  street  trem- 
bling, in  a  heavy  rain.  "  You  must  put  away  your  foreign 
wives,"  cried  Ezra.  And  the  people  answered  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  As  thou  hast  said,  so  must  we  do."  But  the 
matter  could  not  be  settled  by  shouting.  Divorce  courts 
were  opened  in  Jerusalem  and  in  the  towns  about,  and 
cases  were  heard  for  the  space  of  two  months. 

Thus  by  the  strong  hand  of  Nehemiah,  or  by  the  courts 
of  Ezra,  or  by  both  together,  the  separation  was  completed. 
Families  were  broken  up ;  women  and  children  were  turned 
out  of  doors.  The  little  book  of  Ruth  may  serve  to  show 
that  there  were  some  who  disapproved,  for  it  tells  how 
David  himself  was  descended  from  the  marriage  of  a  man 
of  Bethlehem  with  a  woman  of  Moab.  But  the  distinc- 
tion was  made  which  to  this  day  preserves  the  separate 
existence  of  the  Jewish  people. 


THE   PROCLAMATION   OF  THE  LAW      205 

This,  however,  was  only  a  part  of  the  mission  of  Ezra. 
The  title  of  scribe  which  is  given  to  him  suggests  the  office 
of  one  whose  business  is  to  record,  copy  and  compile  the 
writings  of  the  past.  It  was  a  natural  and  necessary 
occupation  of  the  days  of  the  exile,  to  preserve  the  history 
and  institutions  of  the  people.  Ezra  brought  with  him 
the  results  of  those  long  labors. 

On  a  day  in  October,  standing  on  a  high  pulpit  of  wood, 
in  the  street  before  the  water  gate,  he  opened  the  Book  of 
the  Law.  And  as  he  opened  it  all  the  people  stood  up, 
and  Ezra  blessed  God,  and  all  the  people  answered  "  Amen, 
Amen,"  and  the  book  was  read  aloud.  "  They  read  in 
the  book  of  the  law  of  God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense, 
and  caused  them  to  understand  the  meaning."  This  was 
done  day  by  day  for  a  whole  week.  Finding  in  the  book 
that  the  Lord  desired  them  to  keep  a  feast  that  month, 
they  proceeded  to  do  it,  going  out  into  the  neighboring 
hills  and  woods  and  fetching  branches  of  olive,  and  pine, 
and  myrtle,  and  palm,  and  making  booths  or  tents  for 
themselves  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  gardens,  and  on  the 
flat  roofs  of  houses :  a  festivity  which  had  not  been  ob- 
served since  the  days  of  Joshua. 

And  they  made  a  covenant  and  signed  it,  promising 
to  keep  the  law  of  the  Lord. 

The  Jews  had  carried  with  them  into  exile  two  codes  of 
ancient  laws.  One  was  the  Code  of  Exodus,  called  the 
Book  of  the  Covenant  (Exodus  20-23,  34) ;  the  other  was 
the  Code  of  Deuteronomy,  called  the  Book  of  Instruction 
(Deuteronomy  5-11 ;  12-26;  28).  Along  with  these  laws 
went  two  collections  of  materials  of  history,  one  made 
in  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  the  other  in  the  kingdom  of 
Israel. 


2o6  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

The  Jews  seem  to  have  brought  out  of  exile,  from  Baby- 
lon to  Jerusalem,  a  third  body  of  law,  and  a  third  collection 
of  materials  of  history.  The  law  was  the  Code  of  Leviticus 
(Exodus  25-40,  Leviticus,  Numbers),  the  heart  of  which 
(Leviticus  17-26)  is  called  the  Code  of  Holiness.  The 
history  was  an  account  of  the  origin  of  religious  institu- 
tions, especially  such  as  were  connected  with  the  priest- 
hood and  ritual  of  the  temple,  beginning  with  the  conse- 
cration of  the  Sabbath  (Genesis  1-2  14).  It  was  prob- 
ably some  part  of  the  Code  of  Leviticus  which  was  read 
from  the  pulpit  of  Ezra. 

Afterwards  the  history  which  was  made  by  combining 
the  collections  of  Israel  with  the  collections  of  Judah  w^as 
united  with  the  history  which  was  collected  in  Babylon. 
Thus  the  Babylon  history  appears  in  the  account  of  the 
creation  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  the  Judah- 
Israel  history  in  the  other  account  in  the  second  chapter. 
The  codes  of  laws  were  inserted  in  the  history,  and  the 
result  was  the  five  books  from  Genesis  to  Deuteronomy, 
called  the  Pentateuch ;  and  the  book  of  Joshua,  making 
six. 

3.  After  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  Jonah,  Esther,  Daniel.  — 
Old  Testament  history  ends  with  the  last  words  of  the 
book  of  Nehemiah:  "  Remember  me,  O  my  God,  for 
good."  But  other  books  give  us  glimpses  of  the  people 
in  later  days. 

The  scenes  of  Jonah  and  of  Esther  are  laid  in  the  lands 
beyond  the  Euphrates.  The  mission  of  Jonah  is  to  the 
Nineveh  with  whose  fall  the  Assyrians  had  ceased  to  be  a 
power  in  Asia.  Esther  is  queen  in  the  court  of  the  Xerxes 
who  fought  at  Thermopylas  and  Salamis.  The  value  of 
the  books,  however,  is  moral  rather  than  historical.     They 


THE  PROCLAMATION   OF   THE  LAW      207 

reveal  two  quite  different  conceptions  of  the  right  relation 
of  the  Jews  to  the  Gentiles.  Taking  the  distinction 
which  separated  the  Chosen  People  from  their  neighbors, 
the  question  which  is  under  discussion  concerns  the  duty 
of  the  Jews  under  such  conditions. 

The  hero  of  the  book  of  Jonah  and  the  heroine  of  the 
book  of  Esther  agree  in  holding  that  the  Jews  should  have 
no  dealings  with  the  Gentiles,  except  to  hate  them.  Jonah 
at  first  refuses  to  go  to  Nineveh,  and  then,  being  com- 
pelled, goes  reluctantly,  not  because  he  is  afraid  that  the 
Ninevites  will  do  him  harm,  but  because  he  is  afraid  that 
he  may  do  the  Ninevites  good.  And  when  his  fears  are 
realized,  and  they  are  converted  and  escape  the  doom 
which  he  denounced  upon  them,  he  is  angry  with  the  mer- 
ciful God.  The  story  is  a  gentle  satire  upon  the  Jews 
who  have  no  sense  of  mission. 

As  for  Esther,  when  the  plot  against  her  people  has 
been  foiled,  and  the  pagan  Persians  are  meeting  the  pun- 
ishment which  they  devised  against  the  Jews,  ''  the  king 
said  to  Esther  the  queen,  '  The  Jews  have  slain  and  de- 
stroyed five  hundred  men  in  Shushan  the  palace,  and  the 
ten  sons  of  Haman ;  what  is  thy  desire  further  ?  '  Then 
said  Esther,  '  If  it  please  the  king,  let  it  be  granted  to  the 
Jews  which  are  in  Shushan  to  do  to-morrow  according  to 
this  day's  decree  [let  them  kill  five  hundred  more]  and 
let  Haman's  ten  sons  be  hanged  on  the  gallows.'  "  It  is 
a  revelation  of  the  hatred  which  had  been  produced  in  the 
Jewish  heart  by  several  centuries  of  pagan  oppression. 

In  the  book  of  Daniel  the  scene  is  the  court  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar and  Belshazzar,  but  the  writer's  purpose  in  the 
retelling  of  these  old  tales  of  faith  and  courage  is  to  make 
a  contribution  not  to  the  annals  of  history,  but  to  the 


208  OLD   TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

confidence  and  patience  of  his  countrymen  who,  long  after, 
are  suffering  under  the  Uke  afflictions.  Out  of  dens  of  lions, 
out  of  burning  fiery  furnaces,  shall  the  Lord  deliver  His 
people. 

The  prophet  beholds  four  great  beasts  coming  from  the 
sea  (Daniel  7) :  the  four  powers  of  the  world,  the  Chal- 
deans, and  the  Medes,  and  the  Persians,  and  then  the 
Greeks.  The  fourth  beast  is  dreadful  and  terrible,  and 
strong  exceedingly ;  such  was  Alexander  the  Great.  His 
ten  horns  are  ten  generals,  Seleucids  in  Syria  and  Ptol- 
emies in  Egypt,  among  whom  his  domains  were  divided. 
And  a  little  horn  appears,  speaking  great  words,  making 
war  against  the  saints;  such  was  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
who  about  the  year  1 70  was  trying  to  destroy  the  religion 
of  the  Jews.  He  tore  down  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  and  in 
its  place  erected  one  to  the  Greek  god  Zeus.  On  this 
altar,  the  "  abomination  of  desolation,"  he  sacrificed  the 
flesh  of  swine.  He  endeavored  to  poison  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion at  its  source. 

In  the  face  of  this  tremendous  calamity,  the  writer 
of  the  book  of  Daniel  came  to  the  aid  of  faith.  The 
horn  made  war  against  the  saints  and  prevailed  against 
them.  But  the  Ancient  of  days  did  sit,  whose  throne  was 
like  the  fiery  flame,  and  the  wheels  of  his  throne  as  burning 
fire.  The  judgment  was  set  and  the  books  were  opened, 
and  the  beast  was  slain. 

"  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the 
Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to 
the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him. 
And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  king- 
dom, that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages  should  serve 
him :  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which  shall 


THE   PROCLAMATION   OF   THE  LAW      209 

not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be 
destroyed." 

Thus  in  the  midst  of  the  fresh  persecution  shone  the 
ancient  vision  of  the  Golden  Age.  Still,  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  seemed  at  hand.  ''  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth." 
The  latest  book  of  the  Old  Testament  closes  with  these 
brave  words  (Daniel  12:12,  13):  "Blessed  is  he  that 
waiteth.  Thou  shalt  stand  in  thy  lot  at  the  end  of  the 
days." 


TABLES   OF   DATES 

I.  THE  HEBREWS   AND   THEIR  CONTEMPORARIES 

1.    Before  1000  B.C. 

2000     Egyptians  by  the  Nile  have  founded  Memphis  and  Thebes 

to  and  built  the  pyramids. 

1500  Sumerians  by  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  are  writing  in 
cuneiform. 
Semites  from  Arabia  are  settling  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
Hammurabi  builds  Babylon  and  garrisons  Assyria 
(some  say  2250).  Other  Semites  turning  west  are 
settling  Canaan  (Canaanites  and  Amorites).  If 
Amraphel  (Genesis  14:1)  is  Hammurabi,  this  is  the 
period  of  Abraham. 
1500     Hindus  are  descending  into  India  (some  say  1600),  singing 

to  the  Vedic  hymns,  sacred  in  Brahmanism. 

1400     Hyksos,  "  Shepherd  Kings,"  have  invaded  and  ruled  Egypt, 

and  after  their  expulsion,  Thothmes  III  (about  1500)  is 

extending  sway  of  Egypt  over  Canaan  to  Euphrates. 

1400     Amenhotep  IV  (about  1400)    is   receiving   letters  at  Tel 

to  el-Amarna  from  Jerusalem  and  other  cities  of  Canaan 

1300         in  peril  of  "  Habiri  "   (perhaps  Moabites,  Ammonites, 

Edomites). 
1300     Shalmaneser    I    builds    Nineveh    early    in    this    century ; 

to  Babylon  becomes  tributary. 

1200     Semites  from  Arabia  found  Damascus. 

Achaeans  are  descending  into  Greece,  and  building  Athens. 
Rameses  II  builds  Pithom  by  Hebrew  labor.  Merenptah, 
his  son,  describing  campaign  in  Caanan,  mentions 
"  Israel  "  (1260),  perhaps  indicating  that  not  all  the 
Israelites  went  to  Egypt  with  Jacob. 


TABLES   OF   DATES  211 

1200     Rameses    III    repels    northern    raiders    who   settle    along 
to  coast  of  Canaan  (Philistines). 

1100     Trojan  War  (1194-1184). 

Moses   and   the   Exodus ;     Joshua  and  the   Conquest   of 

Canaan  (1150). 
In    northern    Canaan,    Tiglath-pileser    I    (1150-1100)    is 
carrying  Assyrian  armies  to  Mediterranean. 
1100     The  Heroic  Age  of  the  Hebrews:    the  "  Judges." 
to 
1000 

2.   From  Saul  (1000)  to  Alexander  the  Great  (332) 

1000     Hebrew  monarchy  begins  with  Saul,  followed  by  David 
to  and  Solomon;    but  the  kingdom  is  divided  (937). 

900      Greek  minstrels  begin  to  sing  the  stories  of  the  Iliad, 
David  takes  Jerusalem. 
Shishak  of  Egypt  invades  Canaan  (932). 
900     Assyrians  invade  Canaan  under  Shalmaneser  IH  who  meets 
to  Ahab  at  battle  of  Karkar   (854)   and  receives  tribute 

800         from  Jehu  (842). 

Elijah  (875  ),  Elisha  (850). 
The  Odyssey  is  being  composed. 
600     Greek  history  begins  with  the  First  Olympiad  (776). 
to      Roman  history  begins  with  founding  of  Rome  (753). 
700     Assyria  the  world  power  invades  Palestine  under  Tiglath- 
pileser   II,   who   takes    Damascus    (732),   Sargon,   who 
destroys  Samaria  (722),  and  Sennacherib,  who  besieges 
Jerusalem  (701). 
Amos  (750),  Hosea  (740),  Micah,  Isaiah  (737-701). 
Zarathustra  (Zoroaster)   begins  the  Avesta,  sacred  book 
of  the  Persians. 
700     In    first    half    of    century,    Assyria    under    Ashurbanipal 
to  takes  Thebes  and  conquers  Egypt  (660). 

600     In    second    half    (626)    Scythians    terrorize    the    nations, 
impelling  prophecies  of  Zephaniah  and  Jeremiah. 
Draco  reforms  Athenian  law,  Thales  begins    Greek   phi- 
losophy. 
At  end  of  century,  Pharaoh  Necho  defeats  Josiah  (608), 


212  OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY 

Nebuchadnezzar  (606)  destroys  Nineveh,  and  defeats 
Pharaoh  Necho  at  Carchemish  (605). 
Babylonia  is  the  world  power, 
600     Babylonians  (Chaldeans)  invade  Judah  (597).     Ezekiel  is 
to  among  those  carried  captive  to  Babylon. 

500     Again  they  invade   (586)   and  Nebuchadnezzar  destroys 
Jerusalem. 
Persians  under  Cyrus  take  Babylon  (538).     Persia  is  the 
world  power.     Persians  under  Cambyses  conquer  Egypt. 
The  temple  is  rebuilt  at  Jerusalem  (520-516). 
Gotama    Buddha   is  beginning   Buddhism;    Confucius   is 
beginning  Confucianism. 
600     Greeks  repel  Persian  invasion  of  Europe.     Marathon  (490), 
to  Thermopylae,  Salamis  (480). 

400     ^schylus  (525-456),  Sophocles  (496-406),  Euripides  (480- 
406),  Age  of  Pericles  (461-431),  Pantheon  built  (438), 
Socrates  (469-399),  Plato  (427-347). 
The  walls  are  rebuilt  at  Jerusalem  (445). 
400     Under  Alexander,  Greece  is  the  world  power,     Alexander 
to  conquers  Syria  and  Palestine  (332). 

300 

II.   THE   DIVIDED   KINGDOM 

Judah  Israel 

Rehoboam  937  Jeroboam  937-915 

Abijam  920-917 

Asa  917-876  Nadab  915-913 

Baasha  913-889 
Elah  889,  Zimri  887 
Omri  887-875 

Jehoshaphat  876-851  Ahab  875-853 

Jehoram  851-843  Ahaziah  853-852 

Ahaziah  843-842  Jehoram  852-842 

Athaliah  842-836  Jehu  842-814 

Jehoash  836-796  Jehoahaz  814-797 


TABLES   OF   DATES  213 

Jehoash  797-781 
Amaziah  796-782  Jeroboam  II  781-740 

Uzziah  782-735  Zechariah,  Shallum 

Jotham  regent  to  735  Menahem  738 

Pekahiah  735 

Ahaz  735-71S  Pekah  735-734 

Hoshea  734-722 

III.    HISTORICAL  NARRATIVES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTA- 
MENT 

1.  Materials  of  history  (Genesis  to  Ruth), 
(i)   Before  Deuteronomy  (621). 

850  collection  of  materials  in  Judah  (J). 

750  collection  of  materials  in  Israel  (E). 

650  collections  combined  (JE). 
(2)   After  Deuteronomy. 

Code  of  Deuteronomy  added  (D). 

Code   of    Leviticus    ("  Holiness  ")    added   perhaps    in 
exile,  550  (H). 

Priestly  narrative,  history  of   institutions,  added  per- 
haps after  exile,  350  (P). 

2.  National  history  of  Israel  and  Judah  (Samuel,  Kings). 

From  beginning  of  monarchy  with  Saul  (1000)  to  fall  of 
Jerusalem  (586).  Court  chronicles  and  contemporary 
narratives  edited. 

3.  Ecclesiastical  history  of  Judah  (Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah). 

To  the  reestablishment  of  the  Jewish  people  after  the 
Exile;    from  priestly  point  of  view;    perhaps  250. 

IV.   THE   PROPHETS 

I.    In  the  eighth  century  (second  half). 

Amos :  doom  of  Israel,  divine  justice. 
Hosea :  doom  of  Israel,  divine  love. 

Micah :  peasant,  Judah  in  peril  of  Assyria. 
Isaiah :  courtier,  Judah  in  peril  of  Syria  and  Assyria  (chap- 
ters 40-66  are  of  the  sixth  century). 


214  OLD   TESTAMENT  fflSTORY 

2.  In  the  seventh  century  (second  half). 

Zephaniah  :  in  peril  of  Scythians. 
Nahum :  before  fall  of  Nineveh. 
Habakkuk  :  after  fall  of  Nineveh. 

3.  In  the  sixth  century. 

Jeremiah :  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

Obadiah :  after  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (Edom). 

Ezekiel :  in  exile  in  Babylon. 

Haggai :  rebuilding  of  temple. 
Zechariah  :  rebuilding  of  temple. 
Malachi :  neglect  of  temple  worship. 

4.  Later  books. 

Joel :  undated,  plague  of  locusts. 

Jonah  :    undated,  mission  to  Nineveh. 

Daniel:  apocalypse,  Greek  persecution;    about  170. 

V.  OTHER  OLD  TESTAMENT  BOOKS 

Lamentations :  five  poems  on  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

Psalms  :  collection  of  religious  lyrics,  beginning  in  time  of  David, 

perhaps  completed  about  100  B.C. 
Proverbs :    collection    of    moral  counsels,  beginning    in  time  of 

Solomon,  completed  before  250. 
Job  :  the  wise  man  in  adversity ;    after  the  Exile. 
Ecclesiastes  :  the  wise  man  in  prosperity ;    about  200. 
Esther :  a  story  of  the  Persian  period. 
Song  of  Solomon :  a  dramatic  poem  of  the  Greek  period. 


INDEX   OF   PERSONS   AND   PLACES 


Aaron,  brother  of  Moses,  35  ;  makes 
golden  calf,  40;  becomes  high 
priest,  43 ;   dies  in  wilderness,  48. 

Abel,  story  of,  9. 

A-bi'-jam  (=  Abijah),  king  of  Judah, 
defeats  Jeroboam,  106. 

A-bim'-e-lech,  son  of  Gideon,  king 
of  Shechem,  killed  at  siege  of 
Thebez,  59. 

Ab'-ish-ai,  nephew  of  David,  74; 
would  slay  Saul,  77;  captain 
against  Ammonites,  83. 

Abner,  in  Saul's  camp,  75 ;  with  Saul 
pursues  David,  78;  commands 
army  of  Ishbosheth,  78;  kills 
Asahel,  79;  deserts  to  David,  is 
killed  by  Joab,  79. 

Abraham,  in  Haran,  14;  journeys  to 
Canaan,  15  ;  in  Egypt,  16 ;  rescues 
Lot,  17,  18;  makes  covenant  with 
God,  19,  20;  offers  Isaac,  19;  finds 
wife  for  Isaac,  21. 

Absalom,  son  of  David,  kills  Amnon 
his  brother,  85 ;  raises  rebellion 
and  expels  father,  85 ;  defeated 
and  killed  by  Joab,  85;  lamented 
by  David,  86. 

Achan,  his  sin  at  Jericho,  52. 

A-don-i-be'-zek,  conquered  by  Joshua, 
54-    ' 

Ad-o-ni'-jah,  son  of  David,  his  un- 
successful rebellion,  88;  put  to 
death  by  Solomon,  89. 

Agag,  king  of  Amalekites,  put  to 
death  by  Samuel,  71. 

Ahab,  son  of  Omri,  king  of  Israel,  no, 
defeats  invading  Syrians,  in; 
spares  Benhadad,  112;  makes 
alliance  with  Syrians  and  Phoeni- 


cians, 113;  marries  Jezebel,  113; 
meets  Elijah  on  Carmel,  120-122; 
and  in  Naboth's  vineyard,  122; 
disregards  warning  of  Micaiah, 
and  falls  in  battle,  115,  116. 

A-has-u-e'-rus  (=  Xerxes),  king  of 
Persia,  marries  Esther. 

Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  151 ;  disregards 
counsel  of  Isaiah,  152;  appeals  to 
Assyrians  against  Syria  and  Judah, 
153;  defaces  temple  to  pay  tribute, 
153. 

A-haz-i'-ah,  king  of  Israel,  falls 
through  lattice,  prays  to  Baal- 
zebub,  124. 

Ahaziah,  king  of  Judah,  killed  by 
Jehu,  132. 

A'-i,  siege  of,  52. 

Am'-a-lek'-ites,  men  of  the  desert,  4; 
attack  Israel  in  wilderness,  39; 
defeated  by  Saul,  71;  their  king, 
Agag,  killed  by  Samuel,  71; 
attacked  by  David,  78. 

Am'-a-sa,  an  Amalekite,  commands 
Absalom's  army,  85 ;  supersedes 
Joab,  86;  and  is  killed  by  him, 
86. 

Am-a-zi'-ah,  king  of  Judah,  138; 
invades  Edom,  138;  defeated  by 
Jehoash  of  Israel,  138. 

Am'-mon-ites,  their  place  and  settle- 
ment, 4;  conquered  by  Jephthah, 
59,  60;  driven  by  Saul  from 
Jabesh,  67;  conquered  by  David, 
83,  84. 

Am'-or-ites,  their  place  and  settle- 
ment, 4 ;  conquered  by  Egypt,  3  ; 
religion  of,  4,  5 ;  defeated  by  Israel, 
47,  48. 


215 


2l6 


INDEX 


Amos,  herdsman  of  Tekoa,  145  ; 
prophecies  against  Israel,  146,  147  ; 
driven  away  by  priest  of  Bethel, 
147,  148. 

Ar-au'-nah,  sells  threshing-floor  to 
David,  90. 

Asa,  king  of  Judah,  his  reforms,  107  ; 
defeats  invading  Ethiopians,  107 ; 
defeated  by  Baasha  of  Israel,  108  ; 
hires  against  Baasha  Benhadad  of 
Syria,  108. 

Assyrians,  their  place  and  settlement, 
1,2;  make  their  appearance  in  the 
west,  112;  they  meet  Ahab,  112; 
take  tribute  of  Jehu,  135 ;  invade 
Syria,  138;  help  Menahem  of 
Israel,  145 ;  hired  by  Ahaz  of 
Judah  against  Syria  and  Israel, 
153 ;  destroy  kingdom  of  Syria, 
153 ;  destroy  kingdom  of  Israel, 
153-155;  besiege  Jerusalem,  159, 
160;  Hezekiah  pays  ransom  to, 
161 ;  turned  back  from  siege,  162  ; 
partition  of  their  kingdom  be- 
tween Medes  and  Chaldeans,  172. 

Ath-a-li'-ah,  daughter  of  Ahab  and 
Jezebel,  114;  seizes  throne  of 
Judah,  134. 

Baal,  shrine  of,  5;  in  Palestine,  117; 
of  Sidonians,  118;  Elijah  contends 
against,  1 18-12 1;  Jehu  contends 
against,  133;  Jehoiada  contends 
against,  135. 

Ba'-ash-a,  king  of  Israel,  defeats 
Asa  of  Judah,  108. 

Babylonians,  their  place  and  settle- 
ment, 1,2;  send  ambassadors  to 
Hezekiah,  159;  make  Babylon  the 
capital  of  the  world,  173;  con- 
quered by  Cyrus,  191. 

Ba'-laam,  called  by  Balak  of  Moab 
to  curse  Israel  he  blesses  them, 
47- 

Ba'-rak,  called  by  Deborah  he  defeats 
Canaanites,  57. 

Bath-she '-ba,  wife  of  David,  84; 
mother  of  Solomon,  88. 


Bel-shaz'-zar,  194. 

Ben-ai'-ah,    captain     of     Solomon's 

bodyguard,  89. 
Ben'-ha-dad  I,  king  of  Syria,  hired  by 

Asa  of  Judah  to  attack  Baasha  of 

Israel,  108. 
Benhadad  II,  of  Syria,  defeated  by 

Ahab,  110-112. 
Benjamin,    brother   of   Joseph,    the 

cup  in  his  sack,  30. 
Bethel,  Abraham  builds  altar  there, 

16;     and   Jacob   sees  vision,    23; 

Jeroboam's  shrine  at,  106,  107. 
Beth-horon,  battle  of,  52. 
Bethlehem,  birthplace  of  David,  74; 

well  of,  82. 

Cain,  story  of,  9 ;   descendants  of,  9. 

Canaanites,  their  place  and  settle- 
ment, 3  ;  conquered  by  Egypt,  3  ; 
religion  of,  4,  5 ;  beginning  of  con- 
quest of,  50-55;  completion  of 
conquest  of,  58. 

Car-che'-mish,  battle  of,  172,  173. 

Carmel,  scene  of  triiunph  of  Elijah, 
121. 

Chaldeans,  see  Babylonians. 

Cyrus,  his  policy  of  restoration,  191, 
192. 

Da'-gon,  Philistine  god,  falls  before 
ark,  63. 

Damascus,  capital  of  Syria,  4; 
visited  by  Abraham,  15;  Ahaz 
copies  an  altar  of,  153;  taken  by 
Assyrians,  138;  destroyed  by 
Assyrians,  153. 

Dan,  migration  of,  56. 

Daniel,  stories  of,  194-207 ;  visions 
of,  208,  209. 

Darius,  king  of  Persia,  permits  res- 
toration of  Jerusalem,  193 ;  in- 
vades Europe,  197. 

David,  birthplace  and  family,  74; 
minstrel  and  champion,  75 ;  mar- 
riage with  Saul's  daughter  Michal 
75 ;  friendship  with  Saul's  son 
Jonathan,  76;  in  cave  of  Adullam, 


INDEX 


217 


76;  dealings  of,  with  Nabal  and 
Abigail,  77 ;  pursued  by  Saul,  77, 
78 ;  at  Ziklag,  78 ;  seizes  the  throne, 
79;  takes  Jerusalem,  80;  and 
brings  ark  into  it,  81 ;  his  body- 
guard, 82  ;  defeats  Philistines,  82, 
83  ;  his  foreign  wars,  83  ;  commits 
adultery  and  murder,  84;  re- 
bellion of  Absalom  against,  85 ; 
rebellion  of  Sheba  against,  86; 
his  psalms,  87 ;  makes  Solomon 
his  successor,  88. 
Deborah,  summons  Barak  against 
Canaanites,  58;   her  song,  140. 

Edomites,  their  place  and  settlement, 
4 ;  oppose  march  of  Israel,  46 ; 
conquered  by  David,  83 ;  gain  in- 
dependence, 126;  invaded  by 
Amaziah  of  Judah,  138;  Obadiah 
against,  182. 

Egyptians,  conquering  Canaan,  3  ; 
and  losing  it,  3,  53 ;  Abraham 
visits,  16;  Joseph  rules,  28,  29,  31 ; 
oppress  Israel,  32,  33;  Israel 
escape  from,  under  Moses,  35-37 ; 
invade  under  Shishak,  105 ;  invade 
under  Necho,  177;  defeated  by 
Chaldeans,  172. 

E'-hud,  delivers  Israel  from  Moab- 
ites,  57. 

Eli,  guardian  of  ark,  62 ;  teacher  of 
Samuel,  64;   his  death,  63. 

Elijah,  announces  drought,  119;  in 
widow's  house,  120;  contends 
against  Baal  at  Carmel,  120,  121; 
flees  to  Sinai,  121,  122;  confronts 
Ahab  at  Naboth's  vineyard,  122; 
meets  captains  of  fifty,  125;  his 
ascension,  125. 

Elisha,  called  by  Elijah,  127;  stories 
of,  128;  heals  Naaman,  129; 
guides  Syrian  army,  130;  in  siege 
of  Samaria,  130;  summons  Hazael 
of  Syria,  131 ;  calls  Jehu  to  take 
throne  of  Israel,  132,  133;  tells 
Jehoash  of  Israel  to  shoot  arrows, 
137- 


Ephraim,  tribe  of,  settle  in  Canaan, 
56 ;  summon  tribes  against  Ca- 
naanites, 58 ;  jealous  of  Jephthah, 
60;  fight  against  David  who 
takes  throne  from  house  of  Saul, 
78;  led  by  Sheba  into  rebellion 
against  David,  86;  under  Jero- 
boam throw  off  yoke  of  house  of 
David,  99,  100;  become  kingdom 
of  Israel,  102-104. 

Esau,  sells  birthright,  22;  forgives 
Jacob,  26. 

Es-dra-e'-lon,  plain  of,  2 ;  scene  of 
victory  of  Egyptians  over  Ca- 
naanites, 3 ;  and  of  Israel  over 
Canaanites,  58;  defended  against 
Midianites,  59;  there  Philistines 
defeat  Saul,  72. 

Esther,  story  of,  206,  207. 

Ezekiel,  captive  in  Babylon,  185; 
declares  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
186;  his  symbol  of  the  tile,  186; 
and  of  the  hair,  186;  his  vision  of 
idols,  187;  declares  restoration  of 
Jerusalem,  189. 

Ezra,  his  reforms,  203-205. 

Gedaliah,  governor  of  Jerusalem,  183 ; 
assassinated,  184. 

Gibeonites,  make  covenant  with 
Joshua,  52  ;  which  was  broken  by 
Saul,   and    the    breach    avenged, 

53- 

Gideon,  breaks  altar  of  Baal,  sees 
sign  of  fleece,  fights  against  Mid- 
ianites,   establishes   kingdom,   59. 

Gog,  his  invasion,  189. 

Hab-ak'-kuk,  his  prophecy,  173. 

Haggai,  his  prophecy,  195. 

Ham,  descendants  of,  11. 

Ham-mu-rab'-i,  king  of  Babylon,  his 
laws,  2,  14,  141. 

Ha'-za-el,  king  of  Syria,  after  con- 
ference with  Elisha,  131;  fights 
with  Israel,  is  invaded  by  Assyria, 
but  becomes  overlord  of  Palestine, 
131,  132. 


2l8 


INDEX 


Hebron,  house  of  Abraham,  17;  and 
of  Jacob,  26 ;  burials  there  in  cave 
of  Machpelah,  21,  31;  visited  by 
spies,  44 ;  David  made  king  there, 
78 ;  Absalom  acclaimed  king  there, 
8s. 

Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  his  reforms, 
157;  prepares  for  Assyrian  in- 
vasion, 158;  his  recovery,  158; 
his  dealings  with  Babylon,  159; 
besieged  by  the  Assyrians,  aided 
by  Isaiah,  161,  162. 

Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  ally  of  David, 
83  ;  and  of  Solomon,  91. 

Holy  Land,  situation,  i ;  boundaries, 
2 ;  neighbors,  4 ;  divided  among 
tribes,  54-57 ;  divided  into  two 
kingdoms,  103,  104. 

Hosea,  his  domestic  experience,  148; 
prophecies  against  Israel,  149,  150. 

Hoshea,  made  king  of  Israel  by 
Assyrians,  153;  appeals  to  Egypt, 
154;  imprisonedby  Assyrians,  154. 

Huldah,  the  prophetess,  advises 
King  Josiah,  167. 

Isaac,  son  of  Abraham,  marries 
Rebekah,  21,  22;  father  of  Jacob 
and  Esau,  22. 

Isaiah,  courtier  in  Jerusalem,  151 ; 
his  call,  152;  tries  to  encourage 
Ahaz  against  Syria  and  Israel,  152  ; 
warns  against  alliance  with  Egypt, 
158,  160;  heals  Hezekiah,  158; 
rebukes  him  in  matter  of  Babylon, 
159;  portrays  Assyrian  advance, 
160 ;  strengthens  Hezekiah  against 
Assyrians,  160-162. 

Ish-bosh'-eth  (=  Ishbaal),  son  of 
Saul,  fights  against  David  for  his 
father's  throne,  assassinated,  78, 
79. 

Israel,  kingdom  of,  under  Jeroboam  I, 
100,  106;  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages 103,  104;  under 
Baasha,  108;  and  Omri,  108,  109; 
under  Ahab,  1 10-123;  under 
Ahaziah,    124;     under    Jehoram, 


126;  under  Jehu,  131-136;  under 
Jehoash,  138;  under  Jeroboam  II, 
139;  decline  of,  144-150;  under 
Pekah,  151,  152;  under  Hoshea, 
153;   Assyrians  destroy,  153-155. 

Jacob,  son  of  Isaac,  buys  birthright, 
22;  sees  celestial  ladder,  23; 
serves  Laban,  23,  24;  wrestles 
with  angel,  25  ;  father  of  twelve 
sons,  dies  in  Egypt,  31. 

Japheth,  descendants  of,  11. 

Je-ho'-a-haz,  king  of  Israel,  subject 
to  Syria,  136. 

Jehoahaz,  king  of  Judah,  deposed  by 
Necho,  171. 

Je-ho'-ash,  king  of  Israel,  shoots 
Elisha's  arrows,  137;  defeats 
Syrians,  defeats  Amaziah  of  Judah, 
138. 

Jehoash,  king  of  Judah,  saved  from 
his  mother,  Athaliah,  134;  made 
king  by  Jehoiada,  repairs  temple, 
134  (=  Joash). 

Je-hoi'-a-chin,  king  of  Judah,  carried 
captive  to  Babylon,  178;  released, 
185. 

Je-hoi'-a-kim,  king  of  Judah,  his 
selfish  policy,  171,  172;  burns 
Jeremiah's  sermons,  175;  rebels 
against  Chaldeans,  175,  176. 

Je-hon'-a-dab,  joins  Saul  against 
Baal,  133 ;  his  sons  refuse  in- 
vitation of  Jeremiah,  176. 

Je-ho'-ram,  king  of  Israel,  invades 
Moab,  126;  killed  by  Jehu,  132. 

Jehoram,  king  of  Judah,  marries 
Athaliah,  114;  loses  Edom,  126; 
invaded  by  Philistines  and  Ara- 
bians, 126;  denied  royal  burial, 
126. 

Je-hosh'-a-phat,  king  of  Judah,  his 
son  Jehoram  marries  Athaliah,  1 13, 
114;  joins  Ahab  in  war  against 
Syrians,  114-116;  declines  part- 
nership with  Ahaziah  of  Israel, 
124;  joins  Jehoram  of  Israel  in 
war  against  Moab,  126,  127. 


INDEX 


219 


Jehu,  king  of  Israel,  summoned  by 
Elisha,  seizes  throne  of  Israel,  132, 
133 ;  after  massacre  of  royal 
family,  destroys  worshippers  of 
Baal,  133. 

Jephthah,  outlaw  in  Gilead,  leader 
against  Ammonites,  his  vow  60; 
contention  with  Ephraim,  60. 

Jeremiah,  aroused  by  battle  of  Car- 
chemish,  173 ;  his  speech  in  temple 
court,  174;  his  symbol  of  the 
bottle,  175;  the  king  burns  the 
sermons  of,  175;  draws  lesson 
from  Rechabites,  176;  his  symbol 
of  baskets  of  figs,  179;  his  letter 
to  exiles,  179;  his  symbol  of  the 
yokes,  180;  declares  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  181 ;  imprisoned, 
181,  182;  chooses  to  stay  in  Jeru- 
salem, 183;  carried  to  Egypt,  184. 

Jericho,  siege  of,  51. 

Jer-o-bo'-am  I,  overseer  of  forced 
labor,  98;  called  by  Abijah,  98; 
flees  to  Egypt,  99 ;  leads  rebellion 
against  house  of  David,  100; 
establishes  shrines  at  Dan  and 
Bethel,  and  makes  Shechem  his 
capital,  106;  rebuked  by  prophet 
from  Judah,  107,  and  by  Abijah, 
107. 

Jeroboam  II,  king  of  Israel,  his 
prosperous  reign,  140. 

Jerusalem,  letters  from,  3;  capture 
by  David,  80;  besieged  by  Sen- 
nacherib, 160;  destroyed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  183 ;  lamented, 
183;   rebuilt,  193-200. 

Jez'-e-bel,  daughter  of  Ethbaal, 
king  of  Sidonians,  and  wife  of 
Ahab,  113;  fosters  religion  of 
Baal,  118;  threatens  Elijah,  121; 
secures  death  of  Naboth,  122; 
put  to  death  in  rebellion  of  Jehu, 
133. 

Joab,  nephew  of  David,  74;  com- 
mands army  against  Abner,  78; 
kills  Abner,  79 ;  takes  Jerusalem, 
80;   commands  campaigns  against 


Ammon,  83;  secures  recall  of 
Absalom,  85 ;  commands  arm.y 
against  Absalom,  85;  and  kills 
him,  86 ;  is  superseded  by  Amasa, 
and  kills  him,  86;  puts  down  re- 
bellion of  Sheba,  86;  takes  part 
in  conspiracy  of  Adonijah,  88;  is 
put  to  death  by  Solomon,  89. 

Job,  story  of,  198. 

Johanan,  friend  and  successor  of 
Gedaliah,  183,  184 

Jonah,  story  of,  206. 

Jonathan,  son  of  Saul,  friend  of 
David,  76;  hero  of  battle  of 
Michmash,  69,  70 ;  killed  in  battle 
with  Phihstines,  73. 

Joseph,  son  of  Jacob,  his  dreams,  27 ; 
sold  by  brethren,  28;  interprets 
dreams  and  becomes  a  ruler  of 
Egypt,  29;  meets  brethren,  30; 
establishes  family  in  Egypt,  dies 
there,  31. 

Joshua,  fights  Amalekites,  39;  leads 
spies,  45;  succeeds  Moses,  49; 
brings  Israel  over  Jordan,  50; 
destroys  Jericho,  51;  and  Ai,  52; 
wins  battle  of  Beth-horon,  53, 
and  battle  of  Merom,  54;  divides 
land  among  tribes,  54. 

Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  restores  re- 
ligion of  Jehovah,  165;  discovers 
the  Book  of  the  Law,  167;  his 
reforms,  169;  falls  at  the  battle 
of  Megiddo,  170. 

Judah,  kingdom  of,  under  Reho- 
boam,  102-105;  under  Abijam, 
106;  under  Asa,  107,  108;  under 
Jehoshaphat,  113,  114,  115,  124, 
126;  under  Jehoram,  125,  126; 
under  Ahaziah,  132;  under  Atha- 
liah,  134, 135  ;  under  Jehoash,  135  ; 
under  Amaziah,  138 ;  under  Uzziah, 
139;  under  Ahaz,  1 51-153;  under 
Hezekiah,  157-162  ;  under  Manas- 
seh,  163,  164 ;  under  Josiah,  165— 
170;  under  Jehoiakim,  171-177; 
under  Jehoiachin,  178;  Chaldeans 
destroy,  179-183. 


220 


INDEX 


Korah,  rebellion  of,  against  Moses, 
45. 

Laban,  brother  of  Rebekah,  father 

of  Rachel,  23 ;  served  by  Jacob,  24. 
Levi,  tribe  of,  57. 
Lot,    companion   of    Abraham,    14; 

chooses  Sodom,  taken  captive,  17; 

rescued  by  Abraham,  18;   escapes 

from  Sodom,  19. 

Malachi,  his  prophecy,  198. 

Manasseh,  king  of  Judah,  restores 
worship  of  Baal,  164;  offers  his 
son  as  a  sacrifice,  165;  his  long 
reign,  164. 

Mel-chiz'-e-dek,  meets  Abraham,  18. 

Menahem,  king  of  Israel,  seizes 
throne,  hires  Assyrians,  144,  145. 

Messiah,  196,  197. 

Micah,  loses  his  priest  and  idols,  57. 

Micah  of  Moresheth,  his  prophecies, 
156. 

Micaiah,  warns  Ahab,  115. 

Michal,  daughter  of  Saul,  wife  of 
David,  75,  76. 

Michmash,  battle  of,  68,  69. 

Midianites,  carry  Joseph  to  Egypt, 
28;  receive  Moses  fleeing  from 
Egypt,  33,  34 ;  Moses  leads  Israel 
to  land  of,  38;  invade  Palestine, 
driven  away  by  Gideon,  59. 

Moabites,  their  place  and  settlement, 
4;  contend  with  Israel,  47;  their 
king  killed  by  Ehud,  57;  con- 
quered by  David,  83 ;  conquered 
by  Omri,  109 ;  invaded  by  Je- 
horam  of  Israel,  116,  117. 

Moses,  adopted  by  princess,  33 ; 
kills  Egyptian  and  flees  to  Midian, 
33 ;  marries  daughter  of  priest  of 
Midian,  34;  called  at  burning 
bush,  34;  calls  down  plagues  on 
Egypt,  35 ;  leads  Israel  over  Red 
Sea,  36,  37;  establishes  law  by 
commandments,  39-41 ;  estab- 
lishes law  by  cases,  41-43  ;  makes 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  43 ;  sends 


the  spies,  44;  leads  march  of  in- 
vading army,  46-48;  appoints 
Joshua  his  successor,  49;  dies  on 
Pisgah,  49. 

Na'-a-man,  Syrian  general,  healed  by 
Elisha,  129. 

Nabal,  his  dealing  with  David,  76. 

Naboth,  his  vineyard  coveted  by 
Ahab,  122. 

Nahum,  his  prophecy,  166. 

Nathan,  rebukes  David,  84;  secures 
coronation  of  Solomon,  88. 

Neb-u-chad-nez'-zar,  king  of  Chal- 
deans, wins  battle  of  Carchemish, 
172;   invades  Judea,  176,  178. 

Necho,  king  of  Egypt,  defeats  Josiah, 
170;  loses  battle  of  Carchemish, 
170;  Jehoiakim  rebels  against,  176. 

Nehemish,  cupbearer  of  Artaxerxes, 
199;  rebuilds  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
199,  200;   his  reforms,  201-203. 

Nineveh,  capital  of  Assyria,  i ; 
Nahum  concerning  fall  of,  166; 
fall  of,  172,  173. 

Noah,  story  of,  10;  descendants  of, 
II. 

Obadiah,  prophecy  of,  182. 

Omri,  seizes  throne  of  Israel,  makes 
Samaria  his  capital,  108;  invades 
Moab,  109 ;  organizes  his  kingdom, 
108. 

Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  151;  invades 
Judah,  151,  152;  conquered  and 
killed  by  Assyrians,  153. 

Pekahiah,  king  of  Israel,  killed  by 
Pekah,  151. 

Philistines,  their  place  and  settle- 
ment, 53 ;  Samson's  adventures 
among,  61 ;  their  five  cities,  62 ; 
win  battle  near  Shechem,  62 ; 
return  ark,  63 ;  hold  Israel  in 
subjection,  64;  defeated  by  Jona- 
than, 68-70;  defeat  Saul  at  Mt. 
Gilboa,  72,  73 ;  defeated  by  David, 
82. 


INDEX 


221 


Phoenicians,  allies  of  David,  83  ;  and 
of  Ahab,   113;   visited  by  Elijah, 


Rachel,  wife  of  Jacob,  23 ;  hides  the 

household  gods,  24. 
Ra-me'-ses  II,  perhaps  the  Pharaoh 

of  oppression,  32. 
Rameses    III,    repels    Philistine    in- 
vasion, 53. 
Ramoth-Gilead,  Ahab  falls  besieging, 

114,  115;    Jehu  begins  revolution 

there,  132. 
Rebekah,   at  the  well,   21 ;  wife  of 

Isaac,   22;    mother  of  Jacob  and 

Esau,  22. 
Re-ho-bo'-am,  son  of  Solomon,  king 

of    Judah,    refuses    petition,    99; 

and  loses  most  of  kingdom,   100, 

loi ;    invaded   by   Shishak,    105 ; 

fights  with  Jeroboam,  106. 
Ruth,  story  of,  204. 

Samaria,  built  by  Ormi,  108;  be- 
sieged by  Syrians,  130;  destroyed 
by  Assyrians,  154. 

Samaritans,  their  origin,  155;  their 
enmity,  199. 

Samson,  his  exploits,  60. 

Samuel,  brought  up  by  Eh,  64 ;  makes 
Saul  king,  65  ;  rebukes  Saul,  69,  71 ; 
chooses  David,  74;  at  Endor,  72. 

Sanballat,  opposes  the  rebuilding  of 
the  walls,  200,  203. 

Sarah,  wife  of  Abraham,  14,  16; 
mother  of  Isaac  and  Ishmael,  19; 
death  of,  21. 

Sargon,  king  of  Assyria,  destroys 
Samaria,  154. 

Saul,  first  king  of  Israel,  61 ;  relieves 
Jabesh,  67 ;  rebuked  by  Samuel, 
69,  71 ;  at  battle  of  Michmash, 
68-70;  his  jealousy  of  David,  75; 
and  pursuit  of  him,  77;  his  wars, 
especially  with  Amalek,  71;  his 
defeat  and  death,  71-73. 

Sen-nach'-er-ib,  king  of  Assyria,  be- 
sieges Jerusalem,  160-162. 


Shallum,  king  of  Israel  for  one  month, 
144. 

Shal-man-e'-ser  II,  king  of  Assyria, 
invades  west  and  takes  tribute  of 
Ahab,  112. 

Shalmaneser  IV,  king  of  Assyria,  be- 
sieges Samaria,  154. 

Sheba,  leader  of  revolt  against  David, 
86. 

Sheba,  queen  of,  visits  David,  92. 

Shechem,  visited  by  Abraham,  16; 
capital  of  Gideon's  kingdom,  59; 
rebels  against  Abimelech,  59; 
ark  captured  in  battle  there,  62; 
revolution  of  Jeroboam  begins 
there,  99;  becomes  Jeroboam's 
capital,  106. 

Shem,  descendants  of,  12, 

Shi'-shak,  king  of  Egypt,  invades 
Palestine,  105. 

Sihon,  king  of  Amorites,  opposes 
Israel,  47. 

Sinai,  location  of,  38;  Moses  at,  39- 
41 ;   Elijah  at,  121. 

Sisera,  captain  of  Canaan,  defeated 
by  Barak,  58;  killed  by  Jaal, 
58. 

Solomon,  son  of  David  and  Bath- 
sheba,  king  instead  of  Adonijah, 
88;  provision  for  his  court,  89; 
his  palace,  90;  his  temple,  90,  91; 
his  navy,  91 ;  his  wisdom,  92 ; 
his  folly,  92,  93 ;  burdens  the 
people  with  forced  labor,  93,  97 ; 
Edomites  rebel  against,  97  ;  Syrians 
rebel  against,  98;  Jeroboam  rebels 
against,  98,  99. 

Syrians  (=  Arameans),  traders  by 
caravan,  capital  Damascus,  4; 
conquered  by  David,  83;  free 
themselves  under  Solomon,  98; 
hired  by  Asa  of  Judah  against 
Baasha  of  Israel,  108;  Ahab  de- 
feats, hi;  and  brings  into  alliance, 
112  ;  defeat  Ahab  at  Ramoth,  114- 
116;  deceived  by  Elisha,  130; 
who  heals  their  captain,  Naaman, 
129;  besiege  Samaria,  130;  Hazael 


222 


INDEX 


becomes  their  king,  131 ;  attacked 
by  Assyrians,  135 ;  but  are  masters 
of  Palestine,  136 ;  again  invaded  by 
Assyrians,  138;  Ahaz  of  Judah 
hires  Assyrians  to  invade  Syria 
and  Israel,  and  Tiglath-pileser 
destroys  Syrian  kingdom,  153. 

Tell  el-Amarna,  letters  from  Canaan, 

3- 
Tig-lath-pil-e'-ser,    king   of  Assyria, 

receives   tribute   from   Menahem, 

145  ;  attacks  Syria  and  Israel,  153  ; 

destroys  kingdom  of  Syria,    157; 

Ahaz  does  homage  to,  153. 


Uzziah  (=  Azariah),  his  prosperous 
reign  over  Israel,  139;  becomes  a 
leper,  144. 

Zechariah,  king  of  Israel  for  six 
months,  144. 

Zechariah,  his  prophecy,  194,  195. 

Zephaniah,  his  prophecy,  166. 

Ze-rub'-ba-bel,  the  governor  of  Jeru- 
salem, 193;  a  possible  Messiah, 
196. 

Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  appeals  to 
Egypt  against  Chaldea,  180;  con- 
sults Jeremiah,  181 ;  carried  captive 
to  Babylon,  182. 


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Book  of  Judges,  The.     By  Edward  Lewis  Curtis,  ibmo,  bj  cents  net 
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Book  of  Job.     By  George  A.  Barton.  ibmo,  go  cents  net 

Amos,  Hosea,  and  Mica.    Edited  by  M.  C.  Smith.  Preparing 
Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew,  The.     By 

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Acts.     By  George  Holley  Gilbert.  ibmo,  yj  cents  net 
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THE   MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  XTew  York 


A  New  Book  by  the  late  John  La  Farge 

The  Gospel  Story  in  Art 

By  JOHN  LA   FARGE 

Author  of  "  Considerations  on  Painting,"  etc. 

Illustrated  with  80  plates  of  famous  paintings  described  in 
the  text 

Elaborately  bound  in  decorated  cloth,  large  8vo,  $J.oo  net 

Written  by  Mr.  La  Farge  shortly  before  his  death, 
out  of  his  large  learning  on  all  church  matters  as 
well  as  those  of  art,  this  book  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  contributions  to  a  field  where  for  years  the 
author's  word  has  been  preeminent.  A  more  fas- 
cinating subject  or  one  better  calculated  to  display  the 
author's  highly  specialized  talent  would  be  hard  to  dis- 
cover. The  presentation  of  Christianity  as  the  great 
artists  of  all  ages  have  seen  it,  accomplished  by  the  use 
of  illustrations  and  exquisite  descriptions  which  only 
Mr.  La  Farge  could  have  written,  this  is  "  The  Gospel 
Story  in  Art."  All  those  who  like  beautiful  pictures, 
who  find  delight  in  the  study  of  them,  as  well  as  those 
who  reverence  the  story  of  Christianity,  will  be  pleased 
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looked  at  from  a  slightly  different  viewpoint.  Special 
care  has  been  taken  in  the  reproductions,  which  it  is 
believed  will  satisfy  the  most  critical. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


Date  Due 

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:.* 

^ 

BS1197.H68 

Classbook  of  Old  Testament  history, 

■  m,'."n5/°".I!^^.°'?9'"l  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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